Uh Oh
by Chakat StarDust
Summary: Somehow the battle between Hao and Yoh has left Hao as a small child! Can they figure out how to get him back, while avoiding capture?
1. Chapter 1

Wolf: new story, have fun with it! Oh, and I own nothing

Yoh's attack cut through the Spirit of Fire and it seemed to explode. He fell to the ground and covered his head.

The Great Spirit energy that Hao had stolen flew free and back into the Great Spirit itself. When the blinding light cleared there was no sign of Hao or the Spirit of Fire. Yoh looked around, and then saw a small red thing standing by what looked like a bundle of clothes.

Frowning Yoh walked over. As he got closer he realized that the red thing was the small version of the Spirit of Fire. It roared at him, quite pitifully actually. Yoh stared at it in confusion for a moment.

"It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you." Yoh put down his sword to emphasize the point. The Spirit of Fire appeared to be confused, but it was hard to tell with those inhuman eyes. He turned his attention to the bundle of clothes beside the Spirit of Fire.

They were Hao's clothes alright, but where was he? Suddenly the bundle moved and a small child with long chestnut hair struggled out of them.

"Hao?" Yoh whispered, crouching down to stare in shock at the small boy. The boy blinked befuddled black eyes at him. Then those eyes focussed and narrowed, the boy glaring at him. Yep, definitely Hao.

"What are you staring at?" He snarled, then immediately clapped a hand over his mouth at the childish sound of his voice. He then stared down at himself, eyes widening in horror.

"What did you do to me?!" He screamed at Yoh.

"I didn't do anything!" Yoh protested. "I'm just as confused as you are about this." He stared at his now 'little' brother. He judged Hao to be around five years old at this point. He noticed that his large earrings were pulling down on the lobes and making the skin very red and painful-looking.

Tentatively he reached out for them. Hao batted his hands away and glared at him.

"Those look painful, let me help you." Yoh said softly, taking hold of one of the earrings and gently pulled it out. Hao looked sullen as Yoh did the same with the other. Yoh could see Hao's mind working, trying to figure out what had happened, but knew by his expression that the answer eluded him.

Yoh then wrapped the poncho around him, Hao struggling a bit as the material pinned his arms to his sides, restricting his movement. He began to kick as Yoh picked him up. Never had he been so humiliated, he was being picked up and carried by his 'lesser half.' He seethed inwardly with rage.

"Let me go!" He screamed. "Spirit of Fire!" He called. As he looked around he saw that his now small spirit was captured by Anna's beads and could not help him. And he was surrounded by all of Yoh's staring friends. Helpless panic welled up inside him; he was vulnerable, they could hurt him now.

"Dude, that is weird." Horohoro said. Hao growled at him, ignoring the frantic pounding of his heart.

"Do you know why this happened?" Yoh asked Kalim and Silva. He could feel Hao's heart pounding rapidly and held him closer, protectively. They scratched their heads, looking bemused.

"Best I can say is the backlash of power from the Great Spirit being released caused him to revert, but I really don't know." Silva replied.

"Ok, thanks anyway." Yoh said and then turned to walk back to the village.

"Uh, Yoh, what are you doing?" Lyserg asked.

"We can't just leave him out here." Yoh replied. Hao struggled fruitlessly in his arms. What was Yoh planning?

"Put me down!" He ordered. Yoh ignored him and kept walking. Jun and Bailong joined them, and they stared in confusion at Hao.

Hao went silent and sullen, pressing his face against Yoh's chest. Yoh could see that he was red with humiliation. He stopped abruptly and sat down. Carefully he rearranged the poncho wrapped around Hao so that he had sort of a hood to put over Hao's head, hiding his identity.

Hao stared in surprise into Yoh's kind eyes. Yoh could have humiliated him by walking through the village with Hao exposed for all to see, but instead he was trying to prevent that. Hao was quiet for the rest of the journey back and through the village.

They came to the place that Yoh was staying and Yoh balanced Hao on his hip as he opened the door. Hao absentmindedly thought that Yoh would make a good father someday, but brushed the thought aside. Instantly when they were inside he was confronted by his grandparents and father.

"Give him to us." Yohmei ordered and Mikihisa held out his arms. Hao felt Yoh's arms tighten around him protectively. Confusion welled up in him; the one he had tried to kill was trying to protect him.

"What are you going to do with him?" Yoh asked softly.

"That's not your concern Yoh." Yohmei answered.

"You can't kill him, not like this." Yoh said, voice hard. Hao jerked in surprise at Yoh's words.

"We will do what needs to be done, now give him to us." Yohmei demanded angrily.

For a moment Yoh just stood there, eyes flicking uncertainly to each family member. Hao could feel him trembling slightly and the rapid beat of his heart. Slowly though, Yoh's arms relaxed and he held out Hao for his father to take. Hao's insides went cold as Mikihisa's arms took him and held him, not protectively as Yoh had done, but as though he held a dangerous creature to be killed as soon as possible.

Yoh stared helplessly at Hao as his father took him, eyes silently begging for forgiveness. Hao stared back with anger in his eyes, but Yoh could behind the anger a trace of fear.

~~~~~***~~~~~

Yoh padded silently through the house, a bowl of noodles in his hand. In front of one particular door he paused and looked around nervously. When he was sure that no one was coming he opened the door quietly.

Hao looked up slightly as he entered. He was chained to the wall, the chains wrapping around his body. There were various sealing spells around him, preventing from trying to use his powers. In the opposite corner the Spirit of Fire sat still entangled in Anna's beads, with its own sealing spell on it. Hao was also gagged.

"I'm guessing they got tired of you yelling and swearing, huh?" Yoh whispered. Hao glared sullenly; the effect on his child's face was almost cute. Yoh knelt in front of him, noticing that he was still only wrapped in his poncho. He carefully peeled the gag off.

"What do you want?" Hao snarled immediately.

"I brought you some food." Yoh explained, holding up the noodles.

"What makes you think-" He was cut off by Yoh shoving a bunch of noodles in his mouth. He gulped them down, realizing just how hungry he was.

"I'm sorry about earlier." Yoh said softly as he fed his brother. "I knew I couldn't fight off all of them, and I didn't know what I would do if I did get away." He explained. "I am going to get you out of here though."

"And how, pray tell, do you intend to do that?" Hao asked condescendingly. Yoh gave him a look like a kicked puppy. The look made Hao feel guilty for some reason, but he kept up his hostile face.

"I'm not stupid Hao, I know you think I am, but I'm not." He said. He then replaced the gag and walked out the door, leaving Hao alone in the dark once more.

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Wolf: Review plz!


	2. Chapter 2

Wolf: I own nothing!

Hao dozed uneasily, chained as he was. Every sound made him jerk back awake. It had been two days since he had been turned into a child. Though he would never admit it he was scared to find out how the Asakuras were going to deal with him, and in his current state he could not defend himself.

It was a new feeling for him, to be scared. It made him feel uneasy and mad and he vented that frustration at anyone who was fool enough to come into the room.

Surprisingly Yoh would still come to bring him food and try to cheer him up. Those attempts were usually met with hostility on Hao's part, and reluctant defeat on Yoh's. He was confused by Yoh's persistence though, he would have thought that after all he'd done, Yoh would be the one most likely to stay away from him.

He jerked completely awake as the door swung open. Yoh silently moved over to the Spirit of Fire and untied the beads and lifted the seals off it.

"Stay quiet and close, ok?" Yoh whispered to it. It blinked in reply. Yoh then turned his attention to Hao. He quietly padded over and produced a key from his pants pocket.

"Told you I'd get you out." He said smugly. Hao just gave him an unimpressed look, but inside he was actually surprised that Yoh had figured something out. Yoh shrugged and undid the chains on him and pulled off the gag and seals.

Hao squirmed as Yoh picked him up and held him in his arms.

"We need to be fast, and I'm sorry but those little legs of yours aren't going to be able to keep up if you run." Yoh explained apologetically. Hao just glared at him, but settled down. He hated all these new humiliations that kept being rained upon him.

Yoh moved quickly out of the room, closing the door behind him. All the sudden he pressed himself against the wall and stayed shock still.

"What are-" Hao's question was cut off by Yoh clamping a hand over his mouth. He struggled against it, further angered by Yoh's easy overpowering of him, but it was no good. Then he heard footsteps come past where they were hiding and went still. Mikihisa walked straight past them on his way to the bathroom.

Yoh breathed a soft sigh of relief when he was out of sight and then continued on his way. Hao breathed in the cool night air as they went outside. Yoh tugged the poncho over his head once more and set out at a fast trot.

Hao looked up as someone called Yoh's name. Ren stood by one of his family helicopters, waving at them.

"What's going on?" Hao demanded.

"We're going somewhere that they'll hopefully not think about looking for us, at least until we figure out how to get you back to normal."

"Us? We?" Hao said in disbelief.

"You really think they won't figure out immediately who set you free?" Yoh asked. "If I stay it's my ass on the line, and besides, I feel...responsible for you."

"Responsible?" Hao snarled. "I may look like a child, but I am not!"

"I know that, but you still have the body of a child, and with that comes certain...limitations." Yoh explained. "I'm the one that's going to have to help you when you overexert yourself because, knowing your stubbornness, you'll refuse to slow down until you collapse." He chuckled. "And I'm also probably the only one that will be able to deal with your...temperament."

"And what does that mean?" Hao asked snippily. Yoh just gave him an amused look. By this point they had come to the helicopter.

"Are you sure about this Yoh?" Ren asked. Yoh nodded. "Alright then, my family has been informed of your arrival. Once the hubbub dies down Jun and I will join you." He said.

"Thanks Ren, I owe you." Ren shook his head.

"You owe nothing, now try to stay out of trouble." Yoh grinned and nodded happily at him. He carried Hao into the helicopter and helped him get his seatbelt on. Hao growled but didn't do anything else.

They sat in the helicopter in silence as it flew through the night. After awhile Yoh noticed Hao's head beginning to droop and his eyelids sliding shut. His head would jerk back up as he fought to stay awake, but eventually would begin to droop once more.

Yoh gently took off his seatbelt and put his hands around Hao's middle. Hao jerked and struggled a little as Yoh laid him down with his head in his lap. One of Yoh's hands absentmindedly began stroking Hao's head.

Hao growled sleepily at him, but made no other protests. In fact, in a matter of minutes he was completely asleep. Yoh looked down at his sleeping face; he looked so peaceful and gentle like this. Hao shifted slightly and shoved a thumb in his mouth, making Yoh smile.

"You may not like it," He murmured to his sleeping brother. "But I'm going to take care of you, and help you, because that's what brothers do." He didn't say aloud his other hope though, the hope that this time with Hao would open his brother's eyes to the good in the world. It was a small hope, but it would have to be enough.

~~~~~***~~~~~

By the time they got to the Tao estate Hao was once more awake and supremely annoyed at having woke up in his brother's lap. He was currently in a sulk and would not speak to Yoh. He made a point to dig his nails into Yoh's skin when he picked him up to take him inside.

Ren's parents and grandfather were waiting.

"Welcome Yoh, it's good to see you again." Ren's grandfather Zhen said.

"Likewise. I know you agreed to this, but are you sure this is alright?" Yoh replied.

"Ren trusts you, and so we trust you." said Ren's father Yuan. "Although, he understated the oddness of the situation." The Taos all stared curiously at Hao, who glowered at them, cheeks burning.

"We'll show you to your rooms," Ran, Ren's mother said. "We managed to find clothes that would fit Hao, they're in the room already." Yoh mumbled a thanks and followed them upstairs.

"The rooms are attached, and there's also a bathroom." Zhen said. Yoh thanked him and they left the two brothers alone.

"Why don't we get cleaned up first?" Hao just stared at him sulkily. "Ok then, bath it is."

He brought Hao into the large bathroom and set him down on the edge of the bath. He ran the water, nice and warm, and poured bubble bath in it. Hao meanwhile just sulked. He growled at Yoh when he took off the poncho and placed him in the bath.

Yoh took off his own clothes and slipped into the bath with him. He pulled Hao to him and began to scrub him clean. Hao pushed him away.

"I'M NOT A CHILD!" He roared.

"Then stop acting like one." Yoh snapped back. "You're acting like a spoiled child that's not getting his way, so that's how I'll treat you." Hao's mouth opened and closed as he struggled to come up with a response. He couldn't, because Yoh was right.

Hao stared at the marks his nails had left in Yoh's skin, marks made out of petty anger. It wasn't Yoh's fault that he was in this situation. He lowered his head in shame and stayed silent as Yoh continued to wash him. After a moment Yoh sighed softly.

"I know you're confused, angry, and maybe a little scared," He said softly. "You're having a hard time, and I forgive you." Hao was stunned. He lifted his head and Yoh gave him a comforting smile.

When they were finished Yoh helped Hao into a yukata, seeing as Hao was beginning to nod off after the soothing warm bath.

"I shouldn't be tired," He grumbled. "I just slept."

"Just a short nap." Yoh reminded him. "And remember, you've got a child's body now, and they don't have as much stamina."

He chuckled as Hao stubbornly refused to let his eyes slip closed. In one swift move he swept his brother back into his arms and began to rock him, singing softly. Hao struggled at first, but the rocking motions and soft, soothing sound of Yoh's voice quickly lulled him to sleep.

Why was it so easy to give into Yoh? Why did the gentle touches and soft words put his distressed mind at ease the way it did. Hao found himself thinking these things as he slipped away into the soft embrace of sleep.

Hao's eyes finally slipped all the way closed and his breathing grew deep and soft. Yoh kissed him on the forehead and laid him down on his bed. He wandered to the door and turned out the light before whispering

"Goodnight Hao." And he thought, just maybe, he heard Hao sleepily reply.

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Wolf: Review plz!


	3. Chapter 3

Wolf: I own nothing!

Yoh lay in bed the next morning, thinking. Most people would laugh at the thought of Yoh thinking, but he wasn't a stupid boy, just a little lazy. Right now he was thinking about Hao. It wasn't a surprise really, Hao had been on his mind a lot since he found out that the most hated and feared shaman in the world was his brother.

But what would surprise people was that when Yoh thought about Hao there was no hate. Hate made Yoh feel sick, he was incapable of feeling the emotion, and so it was impossible for him to hate Hao.

No, what Yoh was doing when he was thinking of Hao was trying to understand why he was the way he was, and trying to find away to take away all the rage and hate inside him. Yoh knew that it would likely be damned near impossible, but he had to try anyways, that's just the way he was.

~~~~~~***~~~~~~

Hao woke up and sat up abruptly, hoping the last few days had just been a bad dream. He stared down at his small, child's hands in dismay. Frustration and anger boiled in him and bubbled out in a scream of fury.

Yoh was instantly in the room to see what the matter was. Hao didn't even notice he was there until Yoh gripped his shoulders. His mind registered this as someone to take out his anger on and he launched himself on Yoh in a blind rage.

Yoh was startled for a moment, but a sharp jab to his stomach got him moving. He grabbed Hao's wrists in a strong hold. Hao roared and bit his hand. Yoh yelped and shook him off like a dog. He then lifted Hao's hands above his head, Hao screaming defiance. The position made it impossible for Hao to hit or bite him again.

Yoh half-turned his head as the bedroom door slid open.

"Temper tantrum." He told the confused looking Zhen. He nodded and closed the door again, apparently satisfied. Yoh went back to trying to get Hao to calm down but the former teenager was in a complete blind rage. What he needed was a shock to the system to pull him back out.

Gingerly Yoh picked Hao up, careful to hold him in such a way that Hao couldn't hit him but he also wasn't being hurt either. He carried the still screaming Hao, he had to admit he was impressed by his lung power, into the bathroom and set him down in the tub.

Murmuring an apology he turned on the shower head, blasting Hao with freezing cold water. An indignant shriek echoed through the bathroom. Yoh turned off the water and crouched in front of Hao, who was now shivering.

Hao stared back angrily, but it was a more rational anger now. Yoh lifted his soaking wet brother out of the bath, Hao muttering darkly the whole time.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know how else to get you to calm down." Yoh said as Hao dried himself off.

"You should have just left well enough alone." Hao grumbled.

"Yeah, and let you work yourself into a bigger rage and maybe burn down the house? I'm sure the Taos would love that." Yoh replied sarcastically. Hao shot him an annoyed look. He then noticed the dark circles around Yoh's eyes and the tired sag of his shoulders.

'_Has he been sleeping?'_ Hao shook the thought out of his head. He didn't care about Yoh, at least that's what he told himself. But still, for something to be keeping Yoh up at night... A knock at the bedroom door startled him out of his thoughts. Yoh went to go answer it while Hao pulled on some clothes.

Yoh opened the door to see Ran Tao holding a tray of food out to him.

"I thought that Hao would rather eat alone, seeing as he's probably not quite adjusted to his situation." She told him. Yoh took the tray with a grateful thank you and brought it inside the room. Hao was just coming out of the bathroom in a simple red kimono.

"Look Hao, they brought us breakfast in bed!" Yoh said excitedly. Hao snorted at the childish look of delight on Yoh's face.

"It's silly to get excited over such trivial things." He said condescendingly.

"You need to learn to take things a little less seriously." Yoh commented, not at all bothered by Hao's tone. "I've never had breakfast in bed, I'm always the one cooking for Anna."

Huh, that woman's a slave driver."

"I guess so." Yoh admitted sheepishly. "I thought you admired her?"

"Until I saw how she ordered everyone around her about. That's woman's methods could be seen as abuse to you." Hao retorted. Yoh laughed softly. "What's so funny?"

"I didn't think you cared." Yoh replied, smiling. It was the kind of smile that made you want to smile back; the kind of smile that made everything feel right. But Hao, being Hao, refused to give into that smile.

"I-I don't care, it was just something I noticed and..." To his horror Hao felt his face begin to heat up. Standing up abruptly, he walked out of the room, ignoring Yoh's bewildered cry.

Hao ran from the house as fast as he could. The rocky ground hurt and tore his bare feet but he kept running. Why did Yoh have this effect on him? Why was it so easy for him to break down the walls Hao had built around himself?

As Hao ran he heard footsteps behind him. He knew immediately who it was.

"Go away!" He snarled between pants. He was already getting tired. Yoh said nothing, and continued to be Hao's silent shadow as he ran. Hao was scrambling up a tall outcropping of rock when his legs gave out and he collapsed, breathing hard.

Without missing a stride, Yoh scooped him up and placed him on his shoulders. Hao gripped his headphones to steady himself as Yoh continued to walk up to the top of the outcropping. Yoh held his legs in a gentle but firm grip, preventing him from falling.

"I told you you'd ignore your limitations." Yoh chided gently as he made it to the top of the outcropping. "Now, what would you have done if I hadn't come, hmm?" Yoh's voice was gentle, not at all condescending or smug.

Hao didn't understand Yoh, here was his enemy, the one who had tried to kill him, in a humiliating situation, and all Yoh seemed to care about was his well-being. It made no sense!

He squirmed as Yoh sat down and lifted him down off his shoulders and into his lap.

"Let me have a look at your feet." He said gently.

"They're fine." Hao protested, ignoring the fact that they were actually throbbing with pain. Yoh ignored his claim and lifted one of his feet, inspecting it with his hands and eyes.

"You're bleeding." Yoh commented. "We should probably go back and get them cleaned and bandaged, hmm?" Hao didn't answer, but Yoh picked him up anyways and settled him back on his shoulders.

"Do me a favour Hao," Yoh said as he walked back to the estate. "Try to keep that temper of yours in check while we're here."

"And why should I?" Hao asked petulantly.

"Because I might have the patience to deal with your tantrums, but the Taos may not, and if they decide to kick us out because of you, we've got nowhere to go."

"This 'we' again?" Hao asked. "You could go if you want, it's me your family's out to get, not you."

"Our family." Yoh corrected automatically. Hao huffed.

"You all rejected me, remember? I'm not a part of your family anymore."

"I never rejected you." Yoh said quietly. Hao froze. What was Yoh trying to say? Yoh should be one of the ones to hate him the most, shouldn't he? Hao divided people up into two categories, those that hated and feared him, and those that idolized him. But, Yoh was neither, and it confused him.

"Here we go." Yoh said, lifting Hao back off his shoulders and onto the kitchen counter. Without Hao realizing it they had gotten back to the estate already. "Hey, are you ok?" Yoh asked in concern, seeing the slightly zoned-out expression on Hao's face. Hao snapped back to reality and glared at him.

"Of course I'm fine." He snapped. Yoh pulled back and gave him a sceptical look, but didn't say anything else. Hao brooded as Yoh cleaned the little cuts on his feet and wrapped them gently. He hummed softly while he was doing this.

"There, that should do it." Yoh said happily, pulling away slightly to inspect his work. Hao hopped down off the counter, suppressing a hiss of pain as the hard floor smacked painfully against his tender feet. "You sure you're ok?" Yoh asked. Hao growled in annoyance and nodded again.

The twins wandered back upstairs. Hao stormed into his room and shut the door in Yoh's face. Yoh blinked at it, considering whether or not to try to go in, but decided that Hao should have some time to himself.

"Hao, I'm going to go do some training." He called. Hao didn't answer him. "You know," He said in a low voice. "If you ever need someone to talk to...I'm right here." As he headed out of the room and back downstairs he thought to himself

'_I've always been right here, you just refuse to see me.' _

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Wolf: Review plz!


	4. Chapter 4

Wolf: I own nothing!

Hao emerged from his room some time later, to answer a call of nature. He had to go through Yoh's room to do so. As he was coming back he noticed a small stack of books by his door. Yoh must have put them there for him.

Hao went over and looked at them. He didn't recognise any of the titles, but most looked to be for those in their teens or older. He carried the stack of books into his room and shut the door once more.

A little while later he heard Yoh go into his room and then a couple minutes later the shower turned on. Hao found himself thinking of what Yoh had said earlier. What did he mean by it? What was his game? Trying to figure Yoh out was making him weary.

It shouldn't be that hard, Yoh was his other half though. But, Hao was slowly realizing that he didn't know his brother at all. And he didn't like the feeling. He shook it off and turned his attention back to the book he was reading.

He didn't notice there was someone else in the room until a voice said

"What are you reading?" Hao jumped a little, and then glared at Yoh, who merely grinned sheepishly back.

"Sorry, I knocked but there was no answer, so I came in." He explained, sitting down cross-legged in front of Hao. "You must be pretty into that, what is it?" He turned his head to try to see the name on the cover. Hao stayed silent. "It, by Stephen King? I've heard he's a real master of horror." (love Stephen King XD).

Seeing that Hao didn't want to talk to him Yoh went quiet. But only for a minute.

"It'll be ok." he said. "We'll find some way to get you back to normal. Everything will work out."

"Is that your idea of a philosophy?" Hao spat in irritation. "'Everything will work out'" He mimicked mockingly. "What childish nonsense."

Yoh looked like Hao had slapped him. Slowly he stood up and walked to the door, without a backward glance or a word. Hao was left alone once more.

An incredible feeling of guilt crept over Hao. He was annoyed at the reaction; Yoh meant nothing to him after all.

_Are you sure about that?_ A small voice whispered in his head. _Is this really how you want to live? With no one to care about you?_

"Caring makes you weak. I don't need anyone else." Hao muttered to himself.

_Really? Then why do you allow him to pick you up, cuddle you? Why do you feel guilty for hurting him? _

"Shut up." Hao whispered, aware that he was having an argument with his own mind.

_How long before he too gives up on you?_

~~~~~***~~~~~

Hao was awoken in the middle of the night by a small sob. The noise would not have woken any other person, but Hao's senses were more sensitive than most and he was always alert, even in sleep. The sound came again and he realized it was coming from Yoh's room.

He quietly crept to the door and peered in Yoh's room. Yoh was lying on his side, facing the window. Every so often a sob would escape him and his body would shake with the effort.

"Yoh?" Hao called softly. Yoh gave no indication that he had heard. The soft sobs made Hao's hair stand up on end; he'd never heard Yoh cry before, didn't think he would ever cry.

He padded quietly over to where Yoh lay. He stared down at Yoh's face; he was asleep. His face was contorted in anguish and tears seeped under the closed eyelids, down his face and onto his soaked pillow.

"No, no, please no." Yoh moaned softly in his sleep, face contorting more as his body jerked as though being struck violently. His gasping sobs increased in volume and desperation, until Yoh was nearly screaming in anguish.

Tiny, spiderweb cracks went through the ice prison Hao had built around his heart and he reached out a hand to Yoh's face. Yoh didn't wake but shivered slightly as Hao brushed his fingers across his face. Hao found himself moving closer and stroking his hand through Yoh's hair while murmuring softly to him.

The motions seemed to have the right effect, as Yoh's sobs petered out and his breathing grew soft and even. Hao continued to stroke Yoh's hair, even after he had stopped crying. Not knowing why he leaned down and rested his head against Yoh's shoulder.

Yoh's body was warm, and Hao could feel him breathing against him. A heavy aching feeling settled deep within him, deepening the cracks around his secret heart. Hao was deeply unsettled by the sudden, unknown need that welled up inside him, and stood up abruptly.

He walked back to his room and lay down on his own bed. What was wrong with him? Yoh threatened to break down all the barriers that he had created, and Hao had no idea how he was doing it!

He made a resolution to avoid contact with Yoh as much as possible from now on.

~~~~~***~~~~~

Hao woke up to the sound of Yoh's excited, happy voice. Annoyed at being woken up, he staggered to the door to see what was going on.

Yoh's face brightened when he saw Hao.

"Look, Ren's come home!" He said excitedly. Ren gave Hao an unreadable look. Hao merely sneered and walked back into his own room.

Ren watched a small flicker of hurt go through Yoh's gentle onyx eyes at the action, but Yoh quickly hid it with a grin at Ren.

"Why don't you go down and get warmed up in the training yard?" Ren asked. "I'll be down in a couple minutes." Yoh nodded, looking slightly perplexed and wandered out of the room.

Ren stormed over to Hao's door and flung it open.

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" Hao snarled furious.

"Why do you treat your brother like trash?" Ren demanded, gold eyes blazing. "Do you have any idea of what he's given up for you?" Hao snorted.

"He could go back any time he wants." He scoffed.

"Wrong." Ren said, teeth clenched. "They've decided that Yoh is to be killed too, if they ever find him." Hao froze in the middle of getting dressed. They were going to kill Yoh too? Ren continued in a low voice. "I told him it may come to this, but he still insisted on helping you."

"Then he's even more stupid than I thought." Hao growled.

SMACK!

Hao fell backwards from the force of Ren's slap.

"Ungrateful little brat." Ren spat before stomping out of the room. Hao reached up to touch his stinging cheek. Rage and confusion boiled in him. Questions ran through his mind, answers just beyond his grasp. The one question that kept reoccurring to him:

_Why would Yoh risk his life, for me?_

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Wolf: Review plz!


	5. Chapter 5

Wolf: I own nothing!

"Ren, how do you know you love your sister?" Ren stopped in the middle of their training and stared at Yoh. Yoh's face was creased in a rare, thoughtful frown.

"Why are you asking this now?"

"It's just something I've been thinking about, humour me, ok?" Yoh asked. Ren put down his weapon and sighed.

"I know I love my sister because I would protect her at all costs, even at the cost of my own life. And even if she annoys me, hurts me or turns away from me, I still would run to protect her in an instant." Ren explained. "Does that answer your question?" Yoh nodded.

"I guess...I guess that means I love Hao then." Ren stared at Yoh in shock. "Even though he continues to push me away, I still want to protect him." Yoh stared helplessly at Ren. "Do you think I'll ever get through to him?" Ren's face relaxed into a small smile.

"I think you will. You got through to me, didn't you?"

~~~~~***~~~~~

The whole household sat down together for dinner that night. Hao wasn't happy about it and was sulking. Yoh then noticed the livid purple bruise on one of Hao's cheeks.

"What happened?" He asked softly, reaching out for Hao's face. Hao batted his hand away impatiently.

"Nothing." He grumbled.

"That's not nothing." Yoh retorted.

"It is nothing." Hao snarled sullenly. Ren and Jun spoke about some of the things they'd seen in the tournament and then Jun turned to Yoh and Hao.

"I may have thought of something that will help your...situation." She told them.

"What?" Yoh asked excitedly.

"Well, a little while back we had an unusual visitor." She explained. "She was a wolf shape-shifter and was able to work spells."

"Do you think that she knows some way to get Hao back to normal?" Yoh asked excitedly.

"I would think so, she was very wise for one who looked so young." Zhen replied. "Although she was very mysterious about that too."

"Well, that's great. When can we see her?"

"Well, there's a problem there. We don't know where she came from, or whether or not she's going to be coming back."

"Oh." Yoh looked crestfallen.

"We can ask around, she's very memorable, I'm sure someone knows where she lives." Jun added quickly. Yoh instantly smiled, happy once more.

~~~~***~~~~

Ren and Jun cornered Yoh after the meal to talk to him.

"Are you sure you want to bring Hao back to the way he was?" Jun asked worriedly.

"Why?" Yoh asked.

"If he is returned to his proper age he will get back all the power he lost when he shrank, are you sure you want him to be able to wreck havoc all over again?" Ren asked.

"What are you suggesting, that we just leave him like this?" Yoh asked. "How is that right?" Jun and Ren looked uncomfortable.

"He may be our enemy, but that doesn't mean we treat him any different than we would treat anyone else." Yoh said quietly. "Right?"

He turned and walked away, heading towards the library. They didn't understand; Yoh loved his brother and so was willing to do anything to help him. Even though Hao made it clear what he thought of Yoh, Yoh flinched visibly at the memory of some of Hao's harsher words, he still wanted to help. That's what brothers did.

His family didn't understand it either, this need. But how could they just turn and now want him killed? They should trust him, right? Apparently not. It made Yoh sad to know that their hatred overwhelmed their faith in him.

He knew he was taking a risk working to bring Hao back to his former self, but he had to try. He hoped that Hao would see then, see Yoh for what he really was, a brother, not just some empty shell that Hao could use and throw away at his whim.

~~~~~***~~~~~

Hao was once again awoken by the sound of soft sobs. Tiptoeing to the door he peered inside but stopped.

Yoh was actually awake this time, sitting up on his bed, staring out the window with his hand over his mouth, vainly attempting to muffle his sobs.

Yoh had held up ok all day, showing a smiling face to his friends and brother. But now, at night with no one to see or hear, he broke down. He sobbed from the pain of having his family reject him so completely.

Hao secretly watched as his brother sobbed painfully. He shoved the pity welling up inside him down and refused to give into the urge to go to Yoh.

Finally Yoh got up and staggered into the bathroom, still sobbing. As the lock clicked Hao found himself taking an unconscious step forward, hand outstretched. The urge to comfort Yoh was nearly overwhelming.

Disgusted with himself Hao turned and stalked back to his bed. He could still hear Yoh crying though and so he drew himself up into a ball, clamping his hands over his ears. A lump forced itself up his throat and to his horror he felt his eyes sting with unshed tears.

Furiously he shoved those emotions down, back into the icy prison that was his heart. He didn't care, he told himself as Yoh's anguished crying went on, he didn't care.

~~~~~***~~~~~

Hao was in a pissy mood the next morning. Thanks to Yoh's crying he had gotten barely any sleep at all. Though why he couldn't just ignore the sobs was something that he hadn't figured out.

As a result he was more surly than usual when Yoh knocked on his door with breakfast. Hao wrenched the tray out of Yoh's hands and slammed the door in his face.

As he ate breakfast his mind whispered to him

_Did you see his bloodshot eyes? I wonder if he got any sleep last night? _

"Shut up." Hao clenched his teeth, trying to will the thoughts away.

_Did you see the hurt in his eyes when you slammed the door? Real nice, treating your brother like that, especially when he's already as upset as he is. _

"SHUT UP!!" Hao roared and flung his bowl at the wall in a fit of rage. It shattered. Hao picked up his glass to do the same but was suddenly caught in a firm grip. Spinning around he stared up in fury at his brother.

"Calm down." Yoh told him. "You're just going to hurt yourself."

Hao wrenched himself out of Yoh's grip.

"Go away, just go away." He screamed. Yoh just took a step forward, dark eyes satring at him with an unfamiliar emotion. "I DON'T WANT YOU HERE, WHY WON'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE?!" Yoh then spoke again, in a soft voice.

"Because I love you." The simple words sent a shockwave through Hao down to his core. Yoh...loved...him? It didn't seem possible. But as he looked into Yoh's eyes he knew it to be true.

The expression of soft, grieving, aching love in those dark eyes shattered the ice around his heart. A thousand years of repressed emotions welled up inside him and Hao burst into tears.

He felt arms around him, pulling him into a gentle embrace. Hao leaned into the warmth of Yoh's arms and pressed his face against his shirt, trying to muffle the huge, gulping sobs that were escaping his lips.

And Yoh, dear gentle Yoh, just held him. He allowed Hao's tears to soak into his shirt and rubbed his back to try to soothe him. Yoh himself was hurting, but he still had it in him to comfort another, to comfort the one that was the ultimate source of his pain. This knowledge made Hao cry even harder.

He didn't know how long they sat there, Yoh cradling him in his arms, just murmuring softly to him and stroking his hair. When Hao's sobs finally subsided into soft hiccups Yoh smiled at him.

"You feel better now?" That's it. All that mattered to Yoh was that he was alright, there were no grudges, no thoughts of revenge in Yoh's mind, just a brother's need to protect the other. It almost made Hao burst into tears again.

Instead though, he gulped and nodded his head. Yoh smiled again and used his sleeve to wipe Hao's face clean.

"That's good." Yoh's voice was soft and soothing. Hao leaned his head back against his chest and sighed softly. "I'm guessing this means you don't want me to move." Hao nodded his head. He felt tired after crying so hard and felt his eyelids drooping slowly closed. The last thing he heard before succumbing to sleep was his brother's gentle voice telling him

"Go to sleep. Don't worry, I promise I'll be here when you wake up."

* * *

Wolf: Cute? Review plz!


	6. Author Note: Important

Hey guys, no this is not me telling you that I've decided not to continue, so don't freak out. I do however have exams to study for, and as such am taking a two week hiatus from writing to focus on my studies. Really sorry, but I promise to get right back to writing as soon as they are done.

This is Wolf, signing off for now


	7. Chapter 7

Wolf: Hello! I'm back in action everyone! Thank you for being patient! I own nothing, so let's get back to the story.

Hao woke up surrounded by warmth. He opened his eyes and saw that Yoh had curled himself around him protectively. He was still sleeping at the moment, arms locked around his brother.

Hao smiled slightly and reached out to brush his fingers across Yoh's cheek. Yoh mumbled incoherently and his arms tightened around Hao, pulling him closer. Hao sighed and rested his head against Yoh's chest, feeling the soft beat of his heart.

Hao sighed again in contentment. This was Yoh's great gift, the ability to make everything seem alright just with a glance, a touch or a word.

'_Why did I ever fight against this?' _Hao asked himself. _'This peace is wonderful, I feel as though I could lay here forever.'_

Suddenly Yoh sighed softly and opened his eyes. He smiled down at Hao and sat up, pulling his brother into his lap. Hao felt a momentary surge of anger at Yoh's handling, but pushed it down. He no longer wanted to be the person that would snap at Yoh for everything.

"Are you feeling better?" Yoh asked gently. The soft tone defused any trace of anger left in Hao and he relaxed completely. He nodded solemnly, looking up into his brother's tender smile. "That's good. It should be about lunchtime, you want to go down for something to eat?"

"Yeah, that would be nice." Hao replied. Yoh noticed the softer cadence of Hao's voice; it was no longer angry, sarcastic or mocking, but quiet, calm and peaceful. He marvelled at the change in Hao's attitude.

"Love really does conquer all, doesn't it?" Yoh said softly. Hao looked up at him for a moment and Yoh half-thought that he would make a cutting remark.

"I guess so." Hao replied instead. "Knowing that someone, who I've hurt countless times, actually cares about me is..."

"Humbling?" Yoh ventured.

"Yes." Hao said. Yoh smiled happily.

"Hey, you want a ride downstairs?"

"What do you—WHOA!"

Yoh grabbed Hao and swung him up over his head to place him on his shoulders. Hao lurched a little and grabbed onto the headphones and Yoh's hair to steady himself.

"I know it's not altogether dignified," Yoh said, carefully standing up. "But it is fun, isn't it?" Hao had to agree. His position perched on Yoh's head gave him a higher vantage point and the feeling of Yoh walking underneath him now translated into something a little like a rollercoaster ride.

By the time they had gotten down to the kitchen Hao was laughing slightly as Yoh bounced to make him jolt up and down a little. No one was around, so Yoh got to work fixing some food for the two of them. Hao sat at the counter, watching his brother work while humming happily to himself.

Slowly the peace that had stolen over him earlier was leaving Hao and in its place stole confusion and guilt. In the light of Yoh's simple love of him, his past actions now were revealed to him finally as cruel and cutting.

"How can you love me?" Hao finally asked quietly. Yoh turned, with a slight frown, to look at him. His frown lifted at the expression on Hao's face and became concerned. He switched the stove off and sat down next to Hao.

"I love you because you're my brother." He replied.

"But...but all those things I did to you, to the people you care about..."

"In my mind there is no one who is completely evil. There had to be a reason that you were the way you were and so my goal became trying to unravel your motives and try to understand you." Hao looked down, obviously not comforted by this. Yoh was quiet for a few moments.

"You always wore this mask, this smirk firmly planted on your face, but sometimes...sometimes I could see beneath it." He said quietly. "When I would talk to you sometimes I would see this flash, this brief second of emotion. It was loneliness. And when I was with my friends, laughing and talking, and you were near, sometimes I would look over and see longing in your eyes." He paused. "It made me realize, no it proved to me, that you were just as human as the rest of us, and you, like everyone else, wanted to have someone that cares about you. That's why I don't hate you."

Hao slowly looked back up at his brother. He remembered the moments of deep, desperate want he experienced when he watched his brother. He never knew that Yoh knew though.

"Why did you never say anything?" He whispered, voice choked up.

"I never got any chance with you. You never wanted to listen to what I had to say." Yoh said in that grieving, gentle voice.

"And yet you kept trying."

"What else could I do? You were suffering in silence, refusing to even acknowledge it, and I was the only one who could see, who could help. I couldn't just give up and turn away."

Hao's eyes welled up with tears again and Yoh quickly pulled him into a hug.

"Thank you for not giving up on me."

Later on Yoh walked into his room, after training with Ren, to find Hao in what looked like a very serious conversation with the Spirit of Fire. He nodded at them when they looked up and left them be to hop in the shower.

When he re-emerged the Spirit of Fire was nowhere to be seen.

"What was that about?" Yoh asked Hao.

"I was telling it that it didn't have to serve me, that it could rejoin with the Great Spirit if it wanted to." Hao replied.

"So it's gone?"

"I don't know. I think it may have gone to think about it." Hao responded. Half a second later the Spirit of Fire popped back into the room. "Have you decided?" Hao asked it. In answer the Spirit of Fire cuddled up to him, uttering a soft chirruping sound. Yoh laughed.

"I think he wants to stay."

"Me too." Hao chuckled, hugging the spirit.

"Hey, Hao!" Hao was shaken gently awake.

"Hmm?" He mumbled. "What is it?" He sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"Let's go watch the stars." Yoh said eagerly. Hao yawned and then nodded. The two of them stole up to the roof. Yoh pulled Hao into his lap, resting his chin upon Hao's head. Hao understood now that this was not meant to humiliate him, but to convey Yoh's affection for him, and so no longer protested Yoh's closeness.

"They look close enough to touch, don't they?" Yoh murmured.

"Yeah, but they're so far away, too far for us to ever reach."

"You never know, maybe someday we'll get there." Hao chuckled slightly at Yoh's optimism.

"Are you really going to do this?" he asked. "Put yourself at odds with your family, for me?" Yoh looked down at him, a rare seriousness in his face.

"By doing this I am being who I am. If they cannot accept that I am going to help people, no matter who they are, then I don't think that I want to be associated with them." Yoh answered softly. "I will choose what my heart tells me is right."

The next morning Yoh was woken up by banging at his door. He hurriedly opened it to find a frantic-looking Ren standing there.

"Ren, what is it?" Yoh asked worriedly. Hao wandered into the room, looking sleepy and confused. Ren caught his breath.

"We have a problem..."

Wolf: Review plz!


	8. Chapter 8

Wolf: Own nothing but the plot.

"What is it Ren?" Yoh asked.

"Your family, and the X-Laws, they've teamed up to find you two, and they're coming here." Ren replied.

"But that's crazy, there can't be any way they know that we're here." Hao said.

"They don't." Ren said. "They are coming because they don't trust anyone who's had contact with you two, and so are coming to inspect our premises." Yoh looked frightened.

"We can't let them find us here." He said. "What do we do?"

"We've already figured something out actually." Ren said, calming down considerably. "I have called Faust and told him that we need a favour."

"Does he know what it's about?" Hao asked.

"I think he can probably guess." Ren replied. "And before you say anything, yes, we believe he can be trusted." He pulled a couple of tickets out of his shirt.

"What are those?" Yoh asked.

"They are plane tickets." Ren explained. "My family will take you as far as the Beijing airport and then you'll take the plane to Germany. Faust will be waiting there for you." Ren then turned to Hao. "You will need to act like a five year old should, if you seem smarter than you should be, people will remember if the X-Laws decide to ask questions."

Hao folded his arms and scowled.

"Onii-chan, it's only for a little while, once we're at Faust's you can act normal again, please?" Yoh asked his brother. Hao relaxed hearing Yoh use the affectionate term for an older brother.

"Alright, I'll act like a baby, if it will keep them off our backs for a little while."

Ren's family dropped them off at the enormous Beijing International Airport the next morning. Yoh stared up at the colossal structure in awe. Hao tugged on his arm, reminding him that they needed to be going; they didn't want to be late.

Hao balked when Yoh grabbed his hand.

"You're supposed to act like a five year old, remember?" Yoh murmured. Hao sighed and reluctantly allowed Yoh to take his hand again. Since it was early morning he could act the tired, sleep-dazed little boy, and not have to chatter incessantly as small children were prone to doing.

The guard manning the security stations (metal detectors etc.) smiled when he saw them come up.

"Well hello there." He rumbled in a deep voice. Hao, acting his part as a little boy, hid behind Yoh at the sight of this mountain of a man. The guard chuckled. "No worries little one, I don't bite." He produced a sucker from one of his pockets. "I have a little boy around your age." Hao reached out and grabbed the sucker, stuffing it in his mouth right away.

The guard chuckled and directed them through the security procedures. When he was done he waved goodbye to them. Hao waved a little-boy goodbye to him as well.

"That was impressive acting." Yoh murmured to Hao, squeezing his hand gently. Hao beamed up at him and swung his arms happily, looking for all the world like a little boy out with his big brother. Yoh grinned at his act and kept walking.

When they got on the plane a new problem presented itself. Their seats were next to a portly, make-up caked lady who took a great interest in Hao immediately.

"Ooh, aren't you just darling." She chirped, reaching out to pinch one of Hao's cheeks. "How sweet." She cooed. Hao looked over at his brother with a 'help me' look. Yoh's eyes flicked over the two of them and then he mouthed 'cry'. Hao blinked and then opened his mouth; letting out an indignant shriek and then bursting into tears.

"I'm so sorry." Yoh apologized to the woman as he pulled his wailing brother into his arms. "He's very tired, he's usually very sweet."

"Oh, oh, no problem dear." The woman said, composing herself. "He's so young, this must be so confusing for him. How old is he?"

"Five."

"Ah, and you?"

"Sixteen."

"Ah, so he was a surprise then?" Yoh smiled at this.

"Yes, he certainly was." He felt Hao smirk against his chest. Hao and Yoh soon both fell asleep, worn out from their already busy day.

The airport in Germany was only slightly less busy and confusing than the one in China. Hao no longer had to pretend to be the tired little brother; the jet lag had taken its toll on his young body. Yoh wasn't faring much better; he moved in a daze through the crowd, anxiously looking around for a familiar face.

"Yoh!" Someone cried, and Yoh twisted to see Faust wheeling up to him as fast as he could, Eliza in tow. It seemed Anna had been successful in bringing Faust's wife back. Yoh grinned tiredly at them and shifted Hao's weight on his hip slightly in order to lean down and hug Faust fondly.

"It's great to see you Faust."

"Ser gut." Faust said in his high, whispery voice. "I am glad to see you too."

"You don't mind this?" Yoh asked as they walked out to the car that was waiting. Faust chuckled.

"Yoh, you brought me out of darkness, out of evil, and I owe you much for that, this is the least I can do." Faust replied evenly. Hao shifted slightly as Yoh placed him in the backseat of the car, but did not wake from his doze.

They soon came to Faust and Eliza's house; a modest flat in the city.

"Huh, I would have expected somewhere a little more...gloomy." Yoh commented as he carried Hao into the house; he was now completely asleep.

"I used to," Faust agreed. "But I feel the time for gloominess has past." He explained, kissing Eliza lightly. "We should show you to your room. I'm afraid we only have one spare, so the two of you will share."

"That isn't a problem." Yoh said with a sunny, albeit weary grin. Faust laughed softly again.

"Go sleep now, both of you, we will talk more when you are rested." Yoh nodded gratefully and followed him to a small room with two small cots set up in it. With a nod Faust left the two of them alone in their room.

Yoh yawned wearily. He began pulling Hao's clothes off him; they had been worn for the last several hours on the plane and were sweaty and rumpled. As he did so Hao stirred and blinked open his eyes.

"You couldn't wait?" He grumbled as Yoh pulled his shirt over his head.

"I thought you'd like to have clothes on when you woke up that didn't stick to your body." Yoh replied evenly. Hao's nose wrinkled in distaste at the thought. Yoh chuckled and helped him into a yukata. Hao watched sleepily as Yoh pulled his own clothes off and got ready to sleep.

"Goodnight onii-chan." Yoh said as he switched off the light and flopped down onto his cot. Hao did the same but the narrow cot at once felt too large and terribly lonely. He sat up and stared at Yoh's porne body for a few minutes, wracked with indecision.

Finally he gulped and padded over to Yoh's cot.

"Yoh?" He whispered, shaking him slightly. Yoh opened his eyes and looked up at him questioningly. "Can I sleep with you?" Yoh regarded him with those peaceful dark eyes for a moment and then, without a word, lifted up the blanket in invitation.

Hao slipped under the blanket and snuggled up against his brother's warm side. He sighed in contentment as Yoh's arms wrapped around him, easing the loneliness inside him.

_This was what I needed all along. Love-- could it really be that simple?_

Wolf: Review plz!


	9. Chapter 9

Wolf: Own nothing but the plot.

Hao awoke once again with Yoh's body protectively curled around him. For a moment he just basked in the aura of peacefulness around them. A knock at the door quickly interrupted that peace.

"Five more minutes." Yoh mumbled sleepily. Hao laughed and then randomly picked up his pillow and bashed Yoh over the head with it. Yoh shot up with a yelp.

"Hey!" He looked down at Hao, who was giving him an innocent look, the pillow still in his hands. "Oh, it's like that huh?"

He grabbed Hao and began to tickle him unmercifully. Hao shrieked with laughter, squirming in Yoh's arms. The Spirit of Fire circled around them, uttering soft, amused chirrups while Amidamaru smiled at the display of brotherly affection.

Finally Yoh released his brother. Hao sprawled against him, out of breath and still giggling. He stared up into his brother's laughing eyes and sat up, wrapping his arms around Yoh.

"What was that for?" Yoh asked when Hao let go.

"For never giving up on me." Hao replied. "For sticking by me, even when it hurt, even when I hurt you." Yoh smiled tenderly at him.

"That's what brothers do." He simply replied.

Another knock at the door brought both their heads up.

"Come in!" Yoh called. The door creaked open and Faust poked his head in.

"Ah, Guten Tag." He said. "Will you be joining Eliza and I for breakfast?" Yoh looked at Hao. Hao nodded his consent.

"Sure Faust." Yoh said. "You can tell us what you've been up to." Faust nodded and walked from the room. Hao sighed heavily when he was gone.

"What's wrong?" Yoh asked. Hao smiled wistfully.

"I can't imagine having friends that trusted me so much, and who I trusted so much." Hao responded quietly.

"But you can." Yoh insisted. "my friends will accept you, given a little time with some. They're completely loyal."

"To you." Hao pointed out.

"Yes, and when they realize they can trust you as much as they trust me, they'll be loyal to you too. Not because of your power, but because you're their friend."

"It all sounds like a dream." Hao murmured.

"Dreams can become reality." Yoh reminded him. He stood up and offered a hand to Hao. Hao took it, feeling Yoh's fingers close around his with a gentle grip. Hao let Yoh lead him out to the kitchen, hand-in-hand.

The kitchen was a sunny yellow, with white tile floors.

"Wow, you've really gotten over gloomy, haven't you?" Yoh commented. Faust nodded.

"I hope the two of you are hungry." Faust chuckled at Yoh's eager nod.

"So Faust," Yoh said, after mopping up what syrup was left on his plate. "What have you two been up to?"

"Well, Eliza and I now work at the local hospital." Faust explained. "I as a surgeon, and she as a nurse."

"Are you enjoying yourselves?"

"Helping others was always one of my greatest pleasures in life, it's good to be able to do it again." Eliza said.

"I guess you just have Frankensteiny for your spirit guardian now, huh?"

"Yes, and that is fine, now that I have my beautiful Eliza back with me." Faust said, kissing Eliza on the cheek. Yoh watched them for a moment, face struggling with difficult emotions.

"Faust, do you think that Anna will ever care about me the same way I care about her?" He finally asked. Faust looked at him in surprise, and then sympathy.

"I think Anna has learned over the course of her young, hard life to put herself above all others, to take care of her own needs, her own desires." Faust said gently. "That means detaching herself from emotions, from love, because it would interfere."

"But I...she...she's pregnant." Yoh said with difficulty. Hao's head shot up and he stared at Yoh in surprise. "She let me...she..." Yoh murmured, unable to go on. Faust sighed.

"Anna did what her duty was, and that was to produce an heir for the Asakura line." He explained. "She did so now, just in case something happened to you during the Shaman King tournament."

"So she won't even care about our child?" Yoh asked in disbelief, tears slipping down his face.

"I think she will try, for duty's sake, but caring about people is not in Anna's character, like it is in yours." Eliza said quietly. "When I checked her over she asked many questions on how to keep the baby healthy, but it was like she was talking about an inanimate object, something foreign to get rid of as soon as possible. When I asked about names and whether or not she wanted a boy or girl," She hesitated. "She said 'it doesn't matter, Yoh can deal with all that junk, he likes it.'" She squeezed his shoulder. "That was before this whole business." Eliza bit her lip, looking worriedly over at Faust.

"There's something else, isn't there?" Hao asked.

"I'm not sure Yoh will want to hear this." Faust said.

"Please, tell me." Yoh said, voice raw with grief. "I need to know."

"After you ran off with Hao, Anna came to me and asked...she asked me to terminate the pregnancy." Faust whispered. Yoh and Hao stared at him, horror-stricken.

"And, did you?" Hao asked through numb lips.

"No, I told her it was too late in the pregnancy." Faust said. "She was six months along by that point. It could have been done, but I refuse to destroy the life of a child." He finished fiercely. Yoh nodded dumbly, unable to speak.

"Why?" He finally whispered in shock. "Why the baby?"

"She didn't want another you." Eliza said. "Those were her exact words."

"But it doesn't make sense, she'd be killing off the only heir to the Asakura line, and since Yoh is to be killed, the line would just end. That surely doesn't fit into her plan, does it?" Hao asked.

"I think your grandfather convinced her of that." Faust replied. "I heard no more from her, and her pregnancy continues." Yoh nodded, but the tears still fell. Abruptly he got up and left the room. Hao followed him, worried.

He opened the door to their room, where he could hear Yoh sobbing inside. Yoh was lying down on his cot, not even trying to stop the great, gasping sobs that shook his body. Hao walked over and lifted Yoh's head into his lap.

"I thought...I thought..." Yoh hiccupped.

"Shh, it's all right, it's not your fault." Hao said. "You can't always change people." Yoh sniffled.

"We should try to find a way to get your child back." Hao said. "It won't have a good life there." Yoh nodded.

"You're going to be an uncle." Hao smiled.

"Yeah, and you're going to be a daddy." Yoh smiled and laughed.

"We can raise the baby together." Yoh said excitedly, sitting up. "It'll have a daddy and an uncle to take care of them." Hao giggled, caught up in Yoh's mood. "We'll be the best guardians ever!"

"I have no doubt."

Wolf: Review plz!


	10. Chapter 10

Wolf: Own nothing but the plot.

The twins stayed another month in Faust's place. This was thanks to a series of several ruses and fake trails laid cleverly by the Tao family. Unfortunately they knew it was only a matter of time before the X-Laws and the Asakuras quit chasing butterflies and got back to investigating all of Yoh's friends.

"It would seem that our time together is up." Faust sighed as he hung up the phone.

"I'm guessing that was Ren?" Hao asked, looking up from the book he was reading. He had taken a liking to Stephen King and was devouring his various works. His current book was Insomnia. Faust nodded.

"So where do we go now?" Yoh asked. Faust sat down at the table.

"I might have suggested going to Lyserg, he is the closest, but..." Faust paused. "Given who you are travelling with, that may not be a wise idea."

"Meaning Lyserg would probably kill us on sight if we came near him." Hao said calmly. Faust nodded.

"Eliza and I have been thinking of this for some time." Faust continued. "Now, I think it's best that you don't go hopping from friend to friend in straight jumps. Do it slow, in such a way that the X-Laws can easily lose your trail, understand?" Yoh and Hao nodded.

"So no plane this time?" Yoh asked.

"Not for awhile. I think you should go to Chocolove for the time being." Eliza said. "Take the train to the English Channel, cross over, and then take the plane to America." Hao cocked his head, thinking, then nodded.

"I think that would work." He said.

"It would mean more acting on your part." Faust reminded Hao. Hao sighed and nodded, resigned to the fact that he had to act as a child.

%&%&%&%

The whistle blew and the train began to chug away from the station. Yoh and Hao waved goodbye to Faust and Eliza from their seats. Yoh sighed when they lost sight of them.

"Don't worry, we'll see them again." Hao piped up. Yoh smiled slightly.

"You sound so sure of that."

"Everything will work out." Hao replied. "That's what you taught me, right?" Yoh laughed and nodded.

"Right." He said, reaching over to hug Hao tightly. Hao snuggled into the embrace happily.

After awhile Yoh fell asleep. Hao on the other hand chose to watch the terrain roll by. He could not read, as his ability to read adult books would be quickly noticed and deemed unusual. He was content for now to watch the scenery pass by.

The Spirit of Fire chirruped a warning. Hao looked up to see a middle-aged man with a limp and a livid scar across his face limping towards them. The man saw him looking and smiled slightly.

"Oh I know I look a little scary," He chortled. "But, I'm just a big old teddy bear." He sat down at the seat across the aisle.

"What happened?" Hao asked with the curiosity of a small child. The man didn't seem to mind and chuckled softly.

"I was a soldier, and I got hurt in battle." He explained.

"Oh, does it hurt?"

"Not anymore." The man replied. "My name is Tom, what's yours?"

"I'm Hao! I'm five!" Hao replied happily. Tom chuckled again.

Yoh stirred and woke up. He blinked at Tom and then smiled.

"Hello, I hope my little brother wasn't bothering you." He said politely. Tom shook his head with a smile.

"Nope, we're just fine, aren't we Hao?" Hao nodded and then yawned. He moved and pulled himself into Yoh's lap, pretending to go to sleep. He wanted to see what Tom would tell Yoh without having to censor himself for a little kid.

"So, how did you get the scars?" Yoh asked curiously.

"I was in Afghanistan, stepped on a land mine." Tom replied.

"You were in the war?"

"Yeah." Tom's face was grim. "You want to be a soldier kid?" Yoh shook his head. "Good. It's not a pleasant thing." Tom's face grew sorrowful. "I lost a lot of good friends out there, and for what? The wart was and still is, a waste of time." He snorted.

"Why did you become a soldier then?"

"I wanted to make my old man proud. Some of the guys out there loved it, the killing, the danger, not me though. It never got easy, taking a life. I still see their faces in my sleep." He sighed. "Kid, the human race is messed up, never forget that, but also never stop trying to make things better, understand?" Yoh nodded. Tom reached over and patted his head, then curled up and went to sleep.

Hao opened his eyes and sat up, looking over at Tom with an expression of respect.

"I never thought that a human could ever feel like that about the world." He murmured to Yoh.

"A lot of people feel that way." Yoh replied. "What your problem was is that you were always just looking for the bad, so that's all you saw. But there are good people in the world."

"I know that now." Hao replied softly. "if more people saw things, like war, like Tom, maybe the world would be better, even with humans."

"Maybe then we have to make them see." Yoh replied. He pulled a small book out of his backpack and began flipping through it.

"What's that?" Hao asked. Yoh blushed slightly.

"It's a baby book." He said. "I'm trying to learn how to take care of the baby once it's born."

"Can I look too?" Hao asked. Yoh nodded and Hao crawled into his lap. The two of them studied babies as the train chugged onwards through the German landscape.

Wolf: Review plz!


	11. Chapter 11

Wolf: Own nothing but the plot.

Yoh and Hao were in a bind. They had gotten to France ok, and onto the ferry. That's where things had started to go wrong. It had started to rain, a steady, cold rain. Yoh and Hao got soaked, and Hao, his body being as young as it was, quickly got sick.

In addition to that they had missed the earlier ferry and were on the late ferry, the one that wouldn't be in England until late at night. By the time they landed they were both tired and it was still raining.

Yoh carried Hao through the dark streets, vainly attempting to find a motel that was vacant and in their budget. Hao sneezed and nuzzled against Yoh, slumped in a stupor. The rain was falling heavier now, and Yoh was getting desperate, afraid for Hao's health.

An idea then occurred to him. He had no idea if it would work, but at this point he was willing to try anything. He walked down the streets with more purpose now, searching for the address he had been given what seemed like ages ago.

He paused in front of the apartment, not sure if he should really go through with it. Then with a feeling of trepidation, he pushed the buzzer.

'**Hello?' **The familiar, English voice made Yoh want to cry with relief.

"Hey Lyserg, it's Yoh."

'**Yoh? What are you doing here?' **

"Long story. Listen, we're stuck for a place to stay, can we...?" He gulped, hoping against hope that Lyserg would say it was ok that they came up.

After a long moment, the front door buzzed and opened. Yoh quickly moved inside and up the stairs to Lyserg's apartment. Lyserg was waiting at the door when he got there, a wary look on his face.

"Lyserg, I'm sorry, we just don't have anywhere else to go." Yoh said in a near whisper. Lyserg's face softened and he held the door open, ushering them inside.

"He's asleep?" Lyserg asked as he brought in towels to dry both Hao and Yoh off. Yoh had placed Hao on the tabletop, but was having to hold the dozing boy up.

"No, it's more like a feverish doze." Yoh explained. "He got sick on the ferry from the cold and rain." Lyserg nodded and looked on as Yoh stripped Hao and rubbed him down with the towel, and then wrapped him in a warm blanket.

"Uhh..." Yoh wasn't sure what to do with Hao while he dried himself off. He couldn't just let him go, Hao was sleeping and would just fall over.

"Here, I'll take him." Lyserg offered, holding out his arms. It wasn't until Hao was settled into his arms that he realized what he'd done. For a moment he considered just killing Hao, he was completely at Lyserg's mercy, but then Hao snuffled slightly and shoved a thumb in his mouth, nuzzling against Lyserg.

Lyserg relaxed a little, and tucked the blanket a little more securely around Hao. Yoh finished getting dressed in some of Lyserg's pyjamas and hung some of Hao's wet clothing on the kitchen chairs so it would dry. For now Hao would have to go naked.

"Here, I can take him back now." Yoh said. Lyserg lifted the sleeping boy into his arms.

"Will you two be ok on the couch?" Lyserg asked. "You don't need a separate place to sleep?" Yoh shook his head and smiled.

"No, we pretty much sleep together every night anyways." He explained. Lyserg nodded and then yawned. It was late. The two boys said goodnight together and Yoh settled on the living room couch with a blanket, and Hao tucked firmly in his arms.

%&%&%&%

Lyserg woke up the next morning and padded out to his kitchen. He stopped in the living room, frowning in confusion at the blanketed bundle on the bed before the events of the previous night were brought back to his memory.

Shaking his head slightly he continued on to the kitchen. As he was eating breakfast he heard footsteps.

"Hey." Yoh whispered as he sat down.

"Morning." Lyserg replied. "Is he still asleep?" He asked, gesturing towards the living room. Yoh nodded.

"He was pretty worn out yesterday, I thought it would be better to let him sleep." Lyserg nodded in understanding.

"Why am I naked?" A hoarse, confused little voice asked from the living room. Yoh stood up and walked into the living room, Lyserg on his heels.

"Hey, good morning." Yoh said to Hao. Hao had pulled himself into a sitting position, blanket still tangled around his slightly shivering form. He blinked owlishly up at the two teenagers. "Are you cold?" Yoh asked in concern.

"A bit." Hao said and then doubled over as a deep, hacking cough wracked his whole body. The coughing fit lasted a couple minutes, and by the end of it Yoh had him in his lap and was rubbing his back, trying to help as best he could.

"Sounds like you have a cold." Lyserg said. "I have some cough medicine in the cupboard." He turned to get it.

"Is it safe for kids?" Yoh asked. Lyserg paused.

"I hadn't thought of that." He admitted, and then grabbed a coat. "I'll go down to the store and get some."

"I'll do it." Yoh offered.

"Thanks, but you don't know where to go, and would probably get lost." Yoh blushed slightly. Lyserg grinned and then walked out the front door.

"What are we doing here?" Hao's tone was curious, not accusatory.

"I couldn't find a motel that had vacancies." Yoh explained. "This was the only place I could think of to go." Hao nodded.

"Do you think he'll stay quiet about us being here?" Hao asked.

"I trust him."

%&%&%&%

Lyserg walked back into his apartment with the cough medicine. He trudged into the living room to find Hao sitting on the couch, reading a book, dressed in a blue sweatshirt and green and blue plaid pyjama pants. He certainly didn't look like the most dangerous shaman in the world. Yoh was nowhere in sight.

"Here's the medicine." Lyserg said, handing it to Hao. "Where's Yoh?"

"In the shower." Hao explained, grimacing at the taste of the medicine. "Thanks." Lyserg nodded.

"What are you reading?"

"Insomnia, by Stephen King."

"I've read a couple of his, is it any good?"

"Yeah." Hao peered up at him. "Why are you talking to me?" The honest bewilderment in his voice matched the mixture of curiosity and confusion in his dark eyes. Lyserg sat down, keeping his eyes locked on Hao's face.

It was no longer the face of his former enemy. The emotions on that face had shifted and become more open, making Hao look vulnerable, tentative. There was none of the uncontrolled wildfire behind those dark eyes. A flame still burned, but it was warming, welcoming, no longer searing, frightening.

"You're easier to talk to like this." Lyserg replied, then coloured slightly. Hao smiled slightly.

"I've gotten used to that." He said. "It used to bother me, but Yoh has done a lot to help me adjust."

"He has that gift, to make people feel comfortable, doesn't he?" Hao nodded. "So you don't mind being...little?"

"Not anymore." Hao replied. "Sometimes...sometimes I think of staying like this, not reversing the spell." Lyserg blinked in surprise.

"Really?"

"Yeah, but I don't think I will."

"Why not?"

"I want to be Yoh's big brother again, to protect him, instead of the other way around." Hao explained.

"You also want your power back." Lyserg couldn't keep the accusation out of his voice, and Hao flinched slightly.

"Yes, but not for the reasons you might be thinking." Hao replied. "A lot of people are after us, and Yoh doesn't have the power to withstand all of them. I need my power back to protect him, and get his child away from his family and protect it."

"Oh, so you heard about that?" Hao nodded. "Were you told about...?"

"Anna trying to kill the baby?" Hao asked in a near whisper. Lyserg bit his lip and nodded. "I still don't understand why she would do something like that."

"She wanted to hurt Yoh." Lyserg said. "For ruining all her plans, and she knew how much he loved that little baby, even though it wasn't born yet." Lyserg gulped. "Then she decided that it would hurt more to have Yoh's child grow up hating him." Lyserg got up to go.

"Lyserg." Hao said in the barest of whispers. "I'm sorry." Lyserg turned back, green eyes wide with surprise. "I'm not going to ask forgiveness, because I don't think I deserve it. What I did to you was horrible, and I am deeply ashamed of it."

Lyserg went back and sat down, staring Hao straight in the eyes again.

"If there's one thing Yoh taught me, it's that everyone deserves second chances." He said.

"So, I forgive you."

Wolf: Review plz!


	12. Chapter 12

Wolf: Own nothing but the plot.

"Can you hand me a spoon?" Lyserg asked. Hao rummaged in the drawer next to him and handed him the spoon. "Thanks."

"No problem." Yoh leaned back and watched his brother and his friend with a small smile. He was so glad that Hao and Lyserg were getting along nicely. He had been very worried about that, but Hao and Lyserg seemed to have sorted things out themselves.

Hao caught Yoh watching them.

"What?" he asked laughingly.

"Nothing." Yoh answered. Hao flicked flour at him. Yoh grinned and dusted his hair with some more flour. Lyserg chuckled at the two of them and turned back to his work.

The three of them were baking. Lyserg hated store-bought baked goods, but had a massive sweet tooth. That meant that he was constantly baking up food for himself. Most of the time he had to downsize the recipe portions because he was only baking for himself but now he had two other mouths to feed.

Hao had found a great sense of enjoyment in helping baking, even if it meant that he had to stand on a stool to help. Today they were making peanut butter cookies, and also an apple pie.

"How's this?" Hao asked, holding out the batter he had been whisking. Lyserg inspected it and nodded in approval.

"That's good." He said. "Now we have to remember to take some of these to my landlady, she's been wonderful to me this last little while." Yoh licked his fingers clean of batter.

"I'm thinking you should be a chef instead of a detective." He told Lyserg. Lyserg laughed and shook his head while Morphine giggled on his head.

"Don't want to give Ryu any competition, do we?" He teased.

"No, did he get the scholarship?" Yoh asked. Lyserg nodded. Yoh let out a happy whoop and danced around the kitchen. Hao laughed and then yelped when Yoh picked him up and spun him around.

Suddenly the door to Lyserg's apartment banged open. Before anyone had any time to react, Marco and the Iron Maiden had walked into the kitchen. For a long moment the five of them froze, staring at each other in shock. Marco was the first to make a move.

"DEVIL!" he roared, withdrawing his pistol from its holster. Yoh moved then, holding his brother tight and quickly jumping out the window onto the fire escape that was there. Not two seconds later a bang was heard inside and Lyserg came hurtling out onto the fire escape too.

The two boys ran, Hao firmly pressed to Yoh's chest.

"What did you do?" Yoh yelled at Lyserg, who looked slightly sooty.

"I have a couple of traps in the house, just in case." He replied.

"Sherlock Holmes would be proud." Hao yelled. A sudden roar behind them made them look back. Marco was charging after them, teeth bared and looking mighty sooty as well.

"Oh boy, time to book it!" Lyserg yelled. The two boys put on a burst of speed and ran as though the demons of hell were after them.

They just couldn't shake the fanatically enraged man though, and they were starting to tire. All the sudden, a shop door ahead of them opened and a voice called out

"In here! Quickly!" Yoh and Lyserg hurriedly ducked into the store and the door slammed shut behind them.

"Behind the desk!" A tall, willowy man with flyaway blond hair and light hazel eyes beckoned to them. "With any luck he won't think to look in here."

Yoh, Hao and Lyserg hid behind the desk and watched as Marco raced past, not breaking stride.

"There we are, he didn't even so much as look this way, did he?" The shopkeeper smiled. "I'm Nathaniel by the way." He said, sticking out his hand.

"Lyserg." Lyserg shook it.

"I'm Yoh and this is my little brother Hao."

"Charmed." Nathaniel said with a dazzling smile. "Now, it's not my business why that man was after, so I will not ask. If you wish to tell me, feel free." Hao wasn't listening, he was staring around the shop, fascinated.

There were spellbooks lined up in a tidy bookshelf. Several vials containing things like ground dragon-claw and griffon feathers dotted the many shelves and displays. Charms and instruments that most humans could never dream existed also were featured. Hao had seen shops like this before.

"Are you a supernatural?" He asked Nathaniel. Nathaniel looked down in surprise, and then hunched down on his knees to stare at Hao.

"You're not a little boy really, are you?" He asked. Hao stared at him for a moment and then shook his head. "Hmm, peculiar. And no, I'm not a supernatural, only a sympathetic human." He explained. "I run this shop for the supernaturals of the city and surrounding countryside. It's one of the few places they can get the things they need to survive."

"Are there other shops like this?" Lyserg asked.

"In every city pretty much." Nathaniel replied.

"How come humans don't figure out that you're here?" Yoh asked curiously.

"There's a spell upon the shop that keeps most humans from noticing it at all." Nathaniel explained. "Wasn't actually sure if it would work on him, but it did!"

"You know, maybe we should tell you what happened." Hao said. "Maybe you can help."

%&%&%&%

Nathaniel sighed and rubbed his head when they finished their tale.

"I'm afraid I can't help." He said regretfully. "I have no magical ability of my own, you see. The spell on the shop was done by a friend." He shrugged helplessly. "I think I may know something about this mysterious girl your friends met."

"Really? Who is she?"

"Her name is Kia. She's a shopkeeper too, but she likes to move around, never stays long anywhere, which is why it will be tricky to find her." Nathaniel explained. "No one really knows that much about her, and there's rumours that she's been around for a very long time." He sighed. "You may want to get out of here soon, the more time you stay, the more probable it becomes that Marco finds you here."

"He's right." Lyserg said. "We should head to the airport, get on a plane to America and find Chocolove." Hao and Yoh nodded at his plan.

"Oh, before you go, let me write down my number." Nathaniel said, getting up to find a pen and paper. "That way we can keep in touch and I can let you know if I find anything that can help."

Phone number in pocket, the three boys waved goodbye and headed on their way.

"Looks like I'm a fugitive now too." Lyserg sighed. "I still don't know how they got in."

"It's all right, at least none of us got hurt." Yoh replied. "And we met a very interesting person." Hao shook his head and commented

"Humans are very strange creatures indeed."

Wolf: Review plz!


	13. Chapter 13

Wolf: Own nothing but the plot.

Yoh, Hao and Lyserg stood in the New York City airport, once again extremely jetlagged. Chocolove had relocated to the city to further pursue his career in comedy. Yoh groaned tiredly.

"I guess I better find a payphone." He said. Hao mumbled from his position dozing in Yoh's lap and Lyserg nodded dazedly. Carefully, Yoh transferred Hao to Lyserg and got up. He unsteadily made his way over to the bank of payphones and rummaged in his pocket for the number he had written down.

"Hey, Chocolove, guess who?" A wide smile crossed Yoh's face at the familiar voice of his friend. "I'm at the airport...yes, Hao is with me, and so is Lyserg...yeah, if that's alright...you have a car?...ok, ok, I'll see you then."

Yoh hung up the phone and made his way back over to Lyserg and Hao. He gently shook Lyserg's shoulder; Lyserg was beginning to doze off and was emitting soft, breathy snores. Lyserg straightened with a snort when Yoh called his name and looked around in confusion.

"Come on, Chocolove's going to pick us up, so we have to go outside." Yoh said, picking Hao up despite a soft protesting moan. Lyserg wearily followed Yoh outside where they sat down at a nearby bench.

"How is Chocolove picking us up?" Lyserg asked, yawning.

"His neighbour's been teaching him to drive." Yoh explained. "He said they'd come and pick us up in the car. How did the X-Laws find us?"

"I had given them my address when I was in the team. Guess they used their shamanic abilities to get past the locks."

"It's too noisy." Hao complained groggily from Yoh's lap, nose wrinkled in distaste. It was indeed very loud. The famous New York traffic was whizzing by them, drivers noisily roaring curses at each other and honking horns. Pedestrians yakked on their cell phones and with each other. And through all this tumult Yoh could see an old man playing a saxophone on the sidewalk; the sweet sound piercing the din.

"Listen to that Hao." Yoh murmured. "Even in this place, with all its hustle and bustle and buildings and people, there's still beauty."

Hao's eyes were wide open now as he watched the saxophone man play with an obvious look of rapture on his weathered old face. Hao looked around again, noticing things that he hadn't before. He noticed the young man that called out to the woman who had dropped her wallet and the business man that picked up a crumpled wrapper to put it in the garbage.

As Hao watched he saw less of the selfish, greedy, petty behaviour he had always associated humans with, and more of their kinder nature.

"You see?" Yoh whispered, hugging him close. "You were always looking for the bad things in humans, so that's all you saw. But now you see that there is good too." Hao nodded vaguely, distracted by the world that seemed to have opened up before his eyes.

A sudden honk nearby broke them all out of their stupors or thoughts. Yoh grinned and bounced over to the muddy pickup that idled at the curb. Chocolove poked his head out of the front passenger seat.

"Yoh! It's great to see you!" He said. "This is Jed, my neighbour." Yoh said hello to the tattooed, buzzed headed young man in the driver's seat.

"He going to be ok without some kind of booster seat?" Jed asked, looking at Hao. Yoh nodded and the three boys climbed into the back seat of the pickup. "First time in the Big Apple?" Jed asked as they chugged along. Despite the scary appearance he seemed to be a friendly sort.

"Yeah." Yoh answered.

"What do you think?"

"It's big, and noisy, and lots of big buildings." Hao chirped up. Jed laughed and reached back to ruffle Hao's hair. "You get used to it after a little while."

When they eased up to Chocolove's apartment building Yoh had to once again wake Lyserg up. Chocolove led them upstairs.

"Hey, Choc!" Jed called. "What time's your routine tomorrow night?"

"Eight sharp!" Chocolove yelled back and then unlocked his apartment door. "Jed used to be in a gang when he was younger, but got out when he almost got killed. He's a construction worker now." He explained. He opened the apartment door and ushered then inside. "Well, here it is, home sweet home." The boys stared around the small, meagre apartment. "It's not much, but we'll make it work." Chocolove sighed, rubbing his neck.

"I guess me and Hao could sleep on the couch again." Yoh offered. Chocolove nodded.

"I can probably beg an extra mattress from my landlord, he's a pretty cool guy." He said. Lyserg sat down on the couch and promptly fell asleep in that seated position. Chocolove smiled at Yoh.

"I'll do that now, and let you guys get some rest." Yoh nodded tiredly and, still holding Hao, sat down on the other end of the couch, falling asleep immediately.

%&%&%&%

Yoh and Hao walked together through Central Park. Chocolove and Lyserg understood their alone time together and always let them be when they chose to take a walk, just the two of them. It had been two weeks since they had come to stay with Chocolove.

Yoh had made sure to call Nathaniel to let them know they were alright, and Nathaniel had promised to let them know if he found anything to help their situation. So far, nothing.

"So, have you thought up any names for the baby?" Hao asked Yoh as they walked along quietly. There was no one else around, so Hao didn't have to pretend for now. Yoh grinned sheepishly.

"No." He admitted. "I'm having trouble deciding." Hao laughed a little at that. "Besides, we're not even sure we're going to be able to raise it yet." Yoh wore an uncharacteristic troubled look on his face.

"I know." Hao whispered. "But, we still have about a month left to figure things out until Anna has the baby, it would probably be best to get it away from her right away." Yoh nodded. "I'm sure your friends will help."

"Our friends." Yoh corrected him. Hao smiled distantly.

"Yes, our friends." He agreed.

"You're right, they will help." Yoh nodded. "Especially Faust and Eliza." Hao nodded, the German couple had been very appalled by Anna's wish to terminate her pregnancy, and did not her ability as a good, caring mother. "You sure it will be enough though?" Yoh asked. "I mean, they have the X-Laws on their side."

"That's why we need to get me, and the Spirit of Fire back to our old selves." Hao sighed regretfully. "I will miss this though."

"Why is that?" Yoh cocked his head at his brother.

"Because, it's like I've gotten a chance for a real childhood, and..." He sighed again. "I guess I've just been enjoying myself a lot." Yoh smiled at him.

"Well, there are advantages to being older. You can get into places, and go on rides you wouldn't be able to when you're little." Yoh's voice grew quieter. "I'm glad either way if you stay like this, or become older again, but I really would like it if I had you by my side, as my twin."

Hao wound his tiny hand in Yoh's larger, calloused and scarred one. Yoh had many scars from his shaman fights, and training. Hao had winced to see reminders of the pain that Yoh had gone through but Yoh had told him that the scars reminded him that although they should always be looking ahead, they should also never forget the past.

"I know Yoh, so do I." Hao said. "And I also want to be the one protecting you, not the other way around." Yoh smiled down at him and they continued their walk, hand in hand.

When they got back to Chocolove's place they were met by a wide-eyed Lyserg, holding the phone.

"What is it Lyserg?" Yoh asked.

"Nathaniel says he has something."

Wolf: Review plz!


	14. Chapter 14

Wolf: I own nothing.

Yoh took the phone from Lyserg.

"Hello?"

'**Ahh, Yoh, good, good.' **Nathaniel said brightly. **'You remember how I said that Kia was a shopkeeper like me?'**

"Yes?"

'**Well, it seems she recently moved shop and now resides in Tokyo.'**

"Really? Where?" Yoh listened as Nathaniel rattled off an address. "That's right by the inn! Thanks Nathaniel." Yoh hung up and turned to Hao excitedly.

"We found Kia, and she lives right by where I lived in Tokyo!"

"That's good news." Hao replied, a smile on his face. "Do you know where we can stay if we can't see her right away?" Yoh blinked and then frowned, thinking. Chocolove, who was sitting on the couch, suddenly piped.

"You know, I could call the inn, say I'm asking Ryu for one of his recipes, and see who's all there."

"Yeah, and if there's no one there that wants to hurt you, you can stay at the inn." Lyserg added. Yoh thought about this and looked to Hao, who shrugged.

"Okay, sounds like a good idea."

%&%&%&%

Chocolove made the call in the kitchen. No one could hear what was going on, although they did hear Chocolove crack one of his jokes at one point. Hao groaned as he heard it.

"He really needs to work on that." He muttered.

"Work on what?" Chocolove came back in. "Never mind. Want to know how it's going to be?" Yoh and Hao nodded eagerly. "Well, I got Ryu right away, and he told me…no one else is in the house until next week because they all went to Izumo."

"That's great!" Yoh jumped up, grabbing Hao and spinning him around in his joy. "That means that we can go home for a few days!"

"I'll be coming with, seeing as I don't really want to go home, and I don't think I can really stay here." Lyserg said. Yoh nodded eagerly, face flushed with happiness.

"As much as I'd love to come, I can't take the time off of work." Chocolove shrugged apologetically. "You guys are on your own."

%&%&%&%

A quick phone call to the Tao family had procured them a private jet to fly to Tokyo. Ren would be waiting there for them. He had also said he would try to get the others that were still friendly towards him to the inn as well.

Lyserg had immediately fallen asleep in the plush airplane seats, catching up on a couple weeks worth of spotty sleep on a lumpy mattress. This left Hao and Yoh to converse amongst themselves.

"Can I ask you something Yoh?" Hao asked, a soft note of what seemed like shyness in his voice.

"Of course, anything." Yoh said, tilting his head encouragingly at his brother.

"I just wondered why you hide your intelligence." Hao said after a moment's hesitation. Yoh blinked at him.

"What do you mean?"

"You're smart Yoh, I've seen you fight, you fight with your head, analyze your opponent's strengths and weaknesses and build a strategy based on that." Hao explained. "And yet, you act like you don't have a brain in your head most of the time, when clearly, you do."

Yoh chuckled kindly.

"I understand." He pronounced. "But to understand, you have to know a little bit about me." Hao indicated for him to go on. Yoh inhaled deeply and began. "When I was young and went to school, the other kids bullied and ostracized me because they knew of my family's dealings with what they saw as 'sorcery'. I quickly learned that if I acted dumb they would leave me alone for the most part." He grimaced. "If I showed any indication of intelligence at all for which the teacher could praise me, they would start again."

"They bullied you? Did they ever hurt you, physically?"

"Sometimes. But that's why I played dumb when I was younger."

"What about during the Shaman King tournament?" Hao wanted to know.

"My friends knew I was smart." Yoh explained. "And I considered just letting the façade drop. But, then I found out about you." Hao suspected he knew what came next, but he had to ask.

"And, what did that have to do with it?"

"You're an intelligent person." Yoh responded. "I already had one strike against me being your brother, I felt that if I were to show my intelligence those that wanted you gone would feel more threatened by me."

"So you continued to play dumb." Yoh inclined his head in acquiescence.

"It worked, for a little while. At least until the X-Laws got completely paranoid." Hao laughed awkwardly.

"Yeah, that would probably be my fault, always referring to you as my other half." Yoh shrugged dismissively.

"I think they would have gotten suspicious of me anyways." He admitted. The two of them settled into easy silence for awhile.

"You were always trying to get through to me, weren't you?" Hao finally said, looking down at his hands.

"Yes. You might have been right about the other half thing, because I never felt quite…complete. Until I met you, that is." Yoh answered. "I immediately sensed a bond, a connection that filled the empty space inside. But, as long as you held me in contempt, it was like it was half full."

"So you tried to make me care."

"Not just for me." Yoh replied. "I thought that if I felt it, so did you, and I didn't like that." Hao nodded; Yoh was right, he had never felt quite right until he and Yoh truly became brothers.

"Maybe it's not the other half thing, maybe it's just a twin bond thing." Hao said with a shrug. "I know that you started out as a fragment of me, but you've grown, become so much more, so I don't think the whole other half thing holds too much sway over you anymore, otherwise I would have been able to absorb you no problem."

"Yeah, I suppose that makes sense." Yoh looked over to find Hao gazing at him with a soft expression. "What?"

"You must have gotten so frustrated with me sometimes." Hao's voice was wondering and grateful. "But you never gave up on me…why?"

"Because I didn't want you to be alone anymore." Yoh replied matter-of-factly. Hao shook his head in bewilderment.

"You confuse me Yoh." He said softly. He then pulled himself into Yoh's lap, letting Yoh's arms wrap around him in the comforting embrace he had come to love so much.

"But…that's what I love about you."

Wolf: Review plz!


	15. Chapter 15

Wolf: I own nothing.

"There they are!" Lyserg called as they trudged through the small airport. He had spotted Ren waving to them. Yoh scooped Hao up and broke into a run, eager to see his friend. Ren's face broke into a rare smile at the sight of the two brothers.

"Well, it's about time you showed up." He said in his usual snide way. Yoh grinned and put Hao down before glomping Ren happily.

"I'm so glad to see you again!" Yoh exclaimed. "I was starting to wonder if I ever would." Ren laughed and pulled away from him, beckoning for the travelers to follow him. He led them to a limo out front of the airport.

Hao dozed in the limo but Lyserg and Yoh chatted with Ren, anxious to catch up with their old friend. When they got to the house Yoh picked Hao up and carried him inside.

"Chief!" Ryu ran into Yoh and bearhugged him happily. Hao squawked indignantly as he was squished between their chests. He wriggled out and dropped to the floor with a small thud. Ryu blinked and looked down at the noise.

Ryu stared at Hao for a long while. He took in Hao's changed appearance; the jeans and t-shirt he was wearing in lieu of his usual rather eccentric looking attire. There was also softness to Hao's face that wasn't there before. The other thing that looked out of place was the flush that was steadily rising across Hao's face.

"Um, forgive me for almost squishing you, Hao." Ryu said with a touch of nervousness.

"It's fine." Hao sighed, picking himself up off the floor. Suddenly Horohoro rushed into the hallway and threw himself on Yoh, playfully pummeling him. Faust and Eliza wandered into the room, wondering at the noise.

"You're all here!" Yoh cried happily.

"Of course we are dude!" Horohoro replied, ruffling his hair. "We wanted to see you, silly!"

"And make sure that you and Hao came to no harm while you were here." Faust added in his whispery voice. Yoh felt like he would burst with happiness. His friends still had faith in him, even if his family did not.

He looked over to find Hao standing outside his circle of friends, watching him with a sad smile. Yoh beckoned for him to come over. Hao slowly walked over and Yoh picked him up.

"You ready to get big again?" Yoh asked. Hao smiled and tapped him on the nose playfully.

"Well that's a silly question isn't it?" He replied cheekily, and then yawned widely.

"Maybe you two better sleep first." Horohoro suggested. "We set your old room up with two beds." Yoh followed him upstairs, Hao tucked in his arms.

His eyes widened when he looked at his old room.

"What happened to all my stuff?" He asked, staring around the bare room.

"Anna kind of destroyed most of it." Ryu explained apologetically. Yoh's shoulders slumped slightly at the mention of Anna.

"I see." He replied softly. His friends sensed that the discussion was over and left the brothers to sleep. Yoh lay down on his bed and curled up in a ball. Hao walked over and lay down beside him, stroking his hair gently.

Yoh's arms reached out to pull him close. Hao nuzzled gently against him, murmuring soft words of comfort and continuing to stroke Yoh's hair. Yoh soon slipped into a peaceful slumber. Hao stroked his cheek softly, contemplating.

He could call this all off, stay little. Both he and Yoh would be happy either way. But, Hao felt that Yoh needed him more as an older brother. Yoh needed someone to protect him, and his child when the time came. Hao whispered softly to himself

"It's time to learn how to be a real big brother."

%&%&%&%

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Hao asked, looking around the street dubiously. There were pawn shops and broken down apartments and even a couple of bars around. "This doesn't seem like a place for a magic shop."

"Maybe that's why it's here, because it doesn't seem like a place for a magic shop." Yoh replied. Hao blinked.

"I hadn't thought of that." He admitted. Yoh certainly was smarter than he acted. "You seem a lot smarter these days." Hao commented.

"I don't see a reason to hide it anymore." Yoh replied distractedly, craning his neck to look around. "Aha!"

He pointed out the shop sign reading Paranormal Emporium. Hao grinned as he followed his brother inside. In most respects it looked a lot like Nathaniel's shop in London. At the large, old wooden desk there was a young, exceedingly pale, scarlet-haired girl sitting writing something.

"Excuse me, are you Kia?" Yoh asked. The girl looked up, blinking jet black eyes and shook her head.

"No, that is Aly, my assistant." A young woman stepped out of the back room. "I am Kia." Kia had soft, white hair that spiked in a wild halo around her head, but gave way to a sleek, long ponytail at the base of her neck. Her eyes were a bright shade of aqua blue. But what was most surprising was the soft white wolf ears and tail that the twins could see.

"Uh, nice to meet you, we're-"

"Yoh and Hao Asakura, I presume." Kia came to stand in front of Yoh. Yoh was startled to find she was only his size.

"Yes, how did you know?" Hao asked curiously.

"Nathaniel told me that you two would be coming to see me." Kia replied.

"Did he tell you our problem?" Yoh asked. Kia nodded gravely.

"Can you help us?" Hao inquired.

"Yes, I can." Kia affirmed. "But, I will need to assemble some ingredients in order to do so."

"May I ask you something?" Hao asked. Kia inclined her head slightly. "You're a shapeshifter, right?" Kia nodded again. "Then how come you keep your ears and tail out?"

"I'm actually stuck like this." Kia explained. "I can't use either of my forms anymore."

"How come?" Yoh asked.

"When one uses certain spells, it sort of traps you in the form that you were when you activated the spell." Kia explained.

"So, it's like you're stuck in time?" Hao asked.

"I guess you could say that." Kia smiled mysteriously. "Now, can this wait until tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"Good. Give me your address and I will come tomorrow to perform the spell." Kia said. "Now shoo, I have work to do."

Wolf: Review plz!


	16. Chapter 16

Wolf: I own nothing.

Hao paced impatiently around the house all the next day, waiting for Kia to show up.

"I thought she said she was coming?" He asked irritably.

"Maybe she was having trouble with some of the ingredients?" Yoh suggested from the kitchen where he was fixing some supper with Ryu. Hao muttered in frustration. Yoh gave him a sympathetic look. "I know you're eager, but try to be patient." He said gently. "I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason she isn't here yet."

It wasn't until the sun had gone down completely that there was a knock on the door. Kia sauntered in with Aly in tow.

"You're late." Hao snapped. Kia blinked at him.

"Aly can't go out in sunlight, I did say that, didn't I?" Hao shook his head. "Oh, so sorry, it must have slipped my mind."

"Why can't Aly go out in sunlight?" Yoh asked curiously.

"Aly here is a vampire." Kia explained, patting the small girl on the head. "That's the reason I waited, I need her to assist me."

"Ok, I suppose that's alright." Hao said grudgingly.

"Why don't you have something to eat first?" Yoh suggested. "Or, does Aly not eat anything?" Kia chuckled.

"Aly still likes to eat, even if it doesn't give her sustenance." Kia replied and sat down at the table. Hao sighed impatiently, but sat down as well, fidgeting. Aly let out a low huffing noise at him that seemed like laughter. As the little vampire ate she let out a growl of appreciation.

"You like it?" Ryu asked, a little nervous of having a vampire in the kitchen. Aly only nodded her head and growled softly again. Kia saw the perplexed look of the shamans and smiled, showing off pointed canines.

"Aly doesn't talk, she hasn't since she was abused by her creator." The wolf-girl explained. "And as such she also has issues with others of her kind."

"What about self-loathing?" Ren inquired casually.

"Surprisingly, no." Kia answered with a shake of her head. "I had been worried about that, I confess, but we've had no issues." She rubbed Aly's head. Aly leaned into the touch and emitted a soft hum not unlike a cat's purr. "The food was excellent." Kia complimented. "Now, we should get to work."

She beckoned to Hao and he stood up and followed her and Aly upstairs. Yoh tried to follow but Kia held up a hand.

"The spell needs mine and Aly's complete concentration, it would be preferable if no one else is there." She advised. "Also, if anything should happen...your brother will not be able to get away or defend himself."

"But, no one knows we're here, and Anna doesn't come back for days." Horohoro protested. Kia gazed out at them, eyes unreadable.

"There is something in the air." She said simply and then stepped up the stairs. Hao followed her, part of his mind trying to puzzle out her words, and the rest switching back and forth from nervousness to excitement.

"This will do." Kia strode into an empty room and set the bag she had with her on the ground. As Hao stepped inside she closed the door behind them and sealed it with a tidy lock spell.

"We don't need interruptions." She clarified. Hao nodded and watched as she pulled a spellbook and a couple of sealed containers out of her bag. "Now, I need you to take off your clothes and lie down."

"Excuse me?" Kia rolled her eyes at his incredulous tone.

"Your body is going to expand and either rip them or assimilate them as a part of your body." Hao grimaced at the image. "Exactly. And also I need your body bared for the spell to work."

Hao sighed and took off his clothes and laid down on the cool wood floor, feeling extremely awkward. Kia and Aly appeared to take no notice of his nakedness though. Instead Aly uncorked one of the vials and dipped a paintbrush in it.

Hao jumped as the little vampire began to paint patterns on his skin; face, arms, legs and chest. Kia was mixing a couple of the vials together and as Hao watched, the contents steamed and gave off an earthy, spicy aroma.

"Drink this." Kia instructed. Hao did so and felt his whole body go numb. "So you don't feel the pain of your body growing at an abnormally fast rate." Hao could only blink at her. "It will help if you let your mind go elsewhere for the time being."

Hao blinked once in reply and then as he heard Kia begin to chant in a strange, whispery tongue his mind drifted...

%&%&%&%

Yoh yawned tiredly. It was almost five in the morning and Hao had not emerged. He was not worried, convinced that Kia would have given some sign if something had gone wrong. He sighed and ambled out into the backyard where he sat down on the porch and stared up at the familiar stars.

Unexpectedly, a bright glow blotted out the stars. Yoh's widened in realization and he dodged out of the way at the last second as a blast of furyiochu hit the spot where he had been sitting. As the dust cleared Yoh stared in amazement and dismay as his family and the X-Laws marched into the yard. Even Anna was there glaring at him, belly huge with child.

"Where is the monster?" Yohmei demanded. Yoh merely clenched his jaw and drew Harusame. His friends, who had heard the blast, came to flank them, Oversouls at the ready.

"So, you're going to do this the hard way." Marco observed with a smirk. The Asakuras and the X-Laws also brought out their Oversouls, seemingly uncaring of who might see. None of Yoh's friends faltered, even though they knew they were hopelessly outmatched.

"Been nice knowing you guys." Horohoro murmured as their opponents all let out a blast of furyiochu at them at the same time. At once a wall of fire erupted in front of Yoh and his friends, deflecting the wave of furyiochu.

The shamans wheeled to find Hao striding across the lawn, fully grown and furious. A sheet was draped casually over his body like a toga, but he looked formidable all the same. He stormed right up to the edge of the fire barrier he created and glared at those that would harm his brother.

Yoh felt terror lance through him. What if Hao reverted back to who he had been now that he was big again? He didn't like the way Hao stood there, breathing like a bull preparing to charge, regarding the X-Laws and Asakuras with eyes that burned.

"Hao?" Yoh called, trying not to let his voice quaver. Hao didn't seem to hear him. Yoh gulped slightly and moved forward. He went up behind Hao and placed his hand on his shoulder. Hao's head jerked and he turned with a snarl.

The snarl died as he saw who was there. The anger in his eyes died as he stared into Yoh's frightened, worried eyes. A small sigh escaped him and he waved his hand. The flames disappeared. He turned to look at his adversaries again.

"Leave us alone." Hao said simply, a warning in his voice.

"Monster!" Anna spat furiously. Then, all the sudden, she grabbed at her stomach and grimaced. Yoh went cold with horror at this new calamity that faced him. A dismayed whisper escaped his lips

"The baby."

Wolf: Review plz!


	17. Chapter 17

Wolf: I own nothing.

Immediately Faust and Eliza were at Anna's side. None of the Asakuras or X-Laws stopped them; they were in shock.

"She's having contractions; we'd better get her in the house." Faust called.

"It's too early!" Yoh cried. "She's still got a month to go." He looked around but Hao had disappeared. He spared only a moment of disappointment before Anna screamed again. He then rushed over to help Anna into the house, despite her trying to slap him away.

Kia met them inside.

"Hao told me what was going on." She explained. "I can help."

"So you're a midwife too?" Yoh panted.

"You'd be amazed what skills you pick up over the years." She replied with a grin that showed off her sharp canines. Anna was set up in one of the empty bedrooms and within minutes Eliza and Faust had made a makeshift hospital room out of it.

%&%&%&%

Hours past and the baby still had not been born. Anna was exhausted and resting. Kia had left when dawn approached to find a totally dark room where Aly could stay for the day. She had also managed to chase the X-Laws away; using a transportation spell to send them to a warlock whom Kia said had a tidy little memory modification spell at his disposal.

"Come on Anna, just one more push." Yoh coaxed.

"Get away from me." Anna snarled, but with none of her usual vehemence. She was tired.

"He's right Anna." Eliza soothed. "One more push and that baby will be out." Anna nodded her head and gathered her energy for one last push. Eliza caught the little creature as it slid out into the world. Deftly she cleaned the child up and handed it to Yoh. The little newborn only gasped, eyes opening wide before settling into a tranquil silence.

"It's a boy." Yoh whispered, tears pricking his eyes. "Look Anna." Anna turned away from him and their son though. The tears then came, bittersweet with joy and sorrow mingled.

%&%&%&%

Hao wandered through the silent house, steps purposeful. He avoided his family, who were still in the house; Yoh hadn't the heart to chase them out. Hao walked to where he could hear his brother's voice, gently singing a lullaby.

He paused in the doorway, seeing Yoh was feeding the baby, not sure if he should intrude. Then Yoh looked up and beckoned for him to come in. Hao went in and beheld his new nephew for the first time. He had a soft, downy head of blonde hair.

"He has your eyes." Hao commented, seeing the serene dark orbs watching him as the baby suckled eagerly on the bottle. "And your appetite."

"His name is Hana." Yoh said. He put baby Hana in his bassinet and then looked at Hao. "Did I do something wrong?" Yoh's expression was wounded. Hao was taken aback.

"What do you mean?"

"You just disappeared after the fight and I haven't seen you since." Yoh explained. "Are you avoiding me?"

"No, of course not." Hao replied, shock evident in his voice. "I-I just needed some time to calm down."

"Why?"

"I scared myself, and I scared you I think. I wanted so bad to hurt them for trying to hurt you again." Hao revealed, voice soft. "I'm a little ashamed that I came that close after I'd promised myself…" He trailed off, looking earnestly into Yoh's eyes. He watched with a rising heart as Yoh visibly relaxed.

"Then it's nothing I did?" Yoh said with obvious relief. Hao shook his head and opened his arms. Yoh immediately moved forward and allowed Hao to embrace him gently.

"It's my turn to be the big brother now." Hao murmured. Yoh only sighed and nuzzled closer to him, much like Hao had done when he was still small.

"I want my baby." The emotionless, demanding voice from the doorway broke them apart and they stared in shock at Anna. Yoh backed up and lifted Hana out of his bassinet, holding him close. "Did you hear me? Give me my baby."

Hao stood in her way, getting right in her face.

"Why, so you can raise him to hate his own father?" He demanded quietly.

"His father deserves it, he's ruined everything." Anna replied through clenched teeth.

"Why? Because he had compassion, because he cared about someone besides himself?" Hao demanded. "You're going to wind up taking out your frustration on that child." Hao's voice was low, almost a growl.

"And I should let Yoh have him so that he can grow up hating me?" Anna demanded.

"If you knew Yoh half as much as you claim then you would know that Yoh doesn't hate, and so wouldn't teach his child to hate." Hao then continued in a gentle tone. "You know that child will not have a happy life always having to live up to all those expectations, and you don't want him anyways, do you?" Anna said nothing. "Anna, for once, do the selfless thing." Anna stared at him for a moment then turned on her heel and marched out the door.

"Keep him then, if you want him so much." She said as she left. Hao turned back to Yoh to find tears glistening on his cheeks.

"Thank you." Yoh sobbed quietly, holding Hana close.

"That's what I'm here for." Hao replied, using the sleeve of his red kimono to wipe Yoh's face clean. "Can I hold him?" Yoh nodded and carefully placed Hana in Hao's outstretched arms.

Hana quietly peered up at his uncle. Hao gently touched Hana's face with a fingertip. Hana grasped at the finger. Hao chuckled and tapped Hana's nose with one finger. Hana went cross-eyed, trying to keep it in his sights.

"Want to try feeding him?" Yoh asked. "He hadn't quite finished his bottle yet." Hao accepted the warm bottle from Yoh and watched as Hana eagerly suckled on it, big dark eyes never leaving his face.

"I'm amazed that you have all this stuff here already." Hao commented.

"Faust and Eliza have been preparing for the last couple months apparently, and figured they should bring most of the stuff they had gotten, just in case." Yoh chuckled. "You should have seen the guys earlier fighting over who got to hold him next." Hao chortled.

"He's going to have a lot of eager uncles to look after him, isn't he?"

"None as eager as you, I think." Yoh replied. Hao smiled softly and looked back down at Hana as he yawned.

"He's beautiful." Hao whispered in awe when Hana snuggled softly against him, falling right asleep. "I have one question for you though, Yoh."

"What?"

"Why isn't your mother here?"

%&%&%&%

"Why didn't Kaa-san come with you?" The Asakuras all looked up at Yoh's sharp voice. "Why isn't she here too?" Yoh demanded again.

"Your mother believes you are dead." Yohmei said dispassionately.

"What? Why would you tell her that?"

"Because you are as good as dead."

"And what about my son, her grandson, what will you tell her about him?"

"Stillborn." Yoh stopped cold. He shook his head at his family and turned away.

"I see." He said tonelessly. "So you'll break her heart instead of telling her the truth. Can you really live with that decision?" Yoh didn't wait for an answer, just turned and walked away from the people he had believed to be his family.

Wolf: Review plz!


	18. Chapter 18

Wolf: I own nothing.

Yoh sobbed quietly in Hao's arms.

"It's not fair." He whimpered. Hao hugged him tighter, gently stroking his hair. Yoh nuzzled in closer to his older brother.

"I know, I know." Hao soothed. "But you and I both know that life isn't fair sometimes." He lifted Yoh's chin and wiped the tears off his face. "Think of something happy, like your son. We didn't lose him." Yoh sniffled and then nodded, a minute smile coming to his face.

"You're right." He sighed and leaned against Hao. "You know, you're really good at this." Hao gave Yoh a bemused look.

"Good at what?"

"Being a big brother." Hao smiled tenderly at Yoh's words.

"I had a good teacher." He replied, tussling Yoh's hair fondly. They leaned into each other, finding peace simply in the other's quiet presence.

A knock at the door interrupted their thoughts. Kia poked her head in sporting a huge, cheeky grin.

"Hey, I was eavesdropping earlier, I know, it's one of my bad habits," She grinned at Hao's mock-stern look. "And I brought someone here to see you."

She pushed the door fully open to reveal Keiko Asakura standing there with her. Yoh was on his feet and in his mother's arms in an instant. Hao backed away, making himself as invisible as possible, not wanting to intrude.

"Yoh, oh my sweet little boy!" Keiko hugged Yoh fiercely. "They told me you were dead!"

"I'm ok, Kaa-san." Yoh's reply was somewhat muffled. "We're all ok now." He smiled brightly at her.

Keiko then looked up and pulled away. Yoh followed her gaze and saw that she was staring at Hao. Hao's eyes briefly held his mother's, then flicked away. He couldn't meet this woman's eyes, not after what he had done.

Keiko stared at Hao for a long time. She took in the red kimono and the hands held loosely at his sides. Hao's head was down and his long, silky hair hid his face from her. She took a tentative step forward, then another, and another, until she was standing directly in front of him.

She cupped Hao's face in both hands and lifted it so that she was looking into his soulful ebony eyes. Anguish colored those eyes in painful shades. Keiko's heart clenched at the depth of emotion in those shadowed orbs.

Keiko leaned down and kissed Hao's forehead before wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close.

"It's ok now." Keiko soothed, feeling Hao's arms reach tentatively around her to embrace her in return. "It's ok, my son." After a few peaceful moments Hao broke out of her grip, brushing tears out of his eyes. Keiko smiled at him. "You've grown so handsome." Hao blushed slightly and looked down, feeling awkward.

"Kaa-san?" Keiko turned at the sound of Yoh's voice. Yoh grinned and held out the tiny bundle swaddled in his arms. "Would you like to meet your grandson?"

Keiko gasped and carefully took the bundle from her son. Hana blinked up at her peaceably and chirruped softly.

"He's been so quiet." Yoh commented. Keiko smiled as she stroked Hana's downy cheek.

"You always were a very calm baby as well." Keiko commented. She handed Hana back to Yoh as he began to yawn. "Yoh, why did they tell me you were dead?"

Yoh and Hao looked at each other. "You may want to sit down…Kaa-san." Hao stumbled over 'Kaa-san', the word unfamiliar to him now. Keiko sat down and the twins told her everything that had happened in the last few months.

%&%&%&%

"How could you?" The Asakuras were startled and stared in surprise as Keiko stormed into the living room.

"Keiko, what are you doing here?" Mikihisa asked, standing up.

"Kia came and got me and brought me to my children and my grandchild." Keiko explained. "How could you lie to me like that?"

"Yoh had joined Hao, we had to do something." Yohmei grumbled.

"Joined? By saving his life Yoh joined him?"

"You know as well as us what dangers that monster presents. Yoh should have destroyed him when he had the chance."

"And what good would that have done?" Keiko's words were met with silence. "How would killing Hao solve anything? He would just come back, looking for revenge on our descendants. The cycle only stops when the killing stops. Yoh knew that."

"Keiko…" Mikihisa stopped when Keiko shook her head.

"I don't know any of you anymore." She whispered sadly.

"Keiko, if you don't stop this nonsense, I'll-"

"Disown me?" Keiko interrupted her father. "Go ahead. I'm not even sure I want to be a part of this family anymore." Her laugh was jagged, anguished. Hao went in and led her out, while Yoh stepped into her place.

"I want you out." He said quietly.

"What?" Yohmei demanded.

"This is my house, and I want you gone. That includes you, Anna." Anna growled at him, but said nothing, still tired from the labor.

"You can't kick us out." Mikihisa said disbelievingly.

"Actually I can. The house is under my name, and mine alone. I can call the police and have you arrested for trespassing, or, you can leave on your own, and never bother us again." Yoh folded his arms and gave them a rare glare, telling them that he was serious.

"Fine, we'll go." Yohmei stood up. "And we won't be back. You're disowned, both you and your mother, and we'll have nothing more to do with you." With that the Asakuras and Anna filed out of the house, and out of Yoh's life, forever.

Yoh walked slowly back to the nursery and found both his mother and brother waiting for him.

"Are they gone?"Keiko asked. Yoh nodded.

"I'm sorry Yoh." Hao whispered.

"For what?"

"Because of me you lost your family." Yoh was taken aback for a moment and then smiled and embraced his twin.

"But I gained so much more." He murmured. "A family isn't about blood, it's about people that care for you, which means that I have a huge family and they're all in the house right now."

Hao smiled, seeing the truth of Yoh's words.

"Thank you Yoh, for everything you've done for me." He said. The twins, and their mother, embraced one last time and then tiptoed out of the nursery.

Wolf: Review plz!


	19. Chapter 19

Wolf: Well, this is it guys, last chapter. I probably won't start anything new anymore until Rebellion is done (at least for Shaman King, anyways) because I work a lot and it's a little much having four of my own stories going at once. But, don't worry, I am still writing. I own nothing, so let's wrap this puppy up!

EPILOGUE

"Tou-san! Tou-san!" Eight year old Hana Asakura burst through the front door of their house, dodged a pair of dragons in the front hall and threw himself at his father. "School's out!"

Yoh Asakura smiled at his young son and hugged him happily.

"Where's that little nephew of mine?" Hao's voice boomed out of the room that he was working on painting. In the next instant he came striding out and scooped up Hana, laughing delightedly.

"Uncle Hao! Put me down!" Hana giggled. Hao chortled again and put him down. Keiko came out of the kitchen and was beset by her grandson yelling for the world to hear that school was over for the year. The other occupants of the old inn chuckled and shook their heads at the young boy's antics.

Under Kia's advice, the twins had turned the old inn into a halfway house for supernaturals. It was a place where supernaturals recently having to learn to live among humans could adjust in a safe environment. It was also an inn for visiting supernaturals, a place where they didn't have to worry about keeping themselves hidden while having a vacation, or doing business.

The life suited them. Yoh was the one that dealt personally with customers; listening to concerns, complaints and generally making sure their stay was comfortable. He even dealt with counseling those supernaturals new to city life.

Hao dealt with money and planning; he made the budget and controlled the business end of their affairs. On the other side he had discovered a knack, and a love for handyman work. On any given day you could find him on the roof fixing a leak, messing with the plumbing, adding new rooms and renovating the old ones, and just generally fixing things up.

Keiko, though she never needed to work, insisted on helping Ryu, their head chef, in the kitchen. The two of them learned to make dishes that catered to all kinds of supernaturals and even taught classes in cooking for those more used to hunting or grazing.

Hana thrived in the social environment he was presented. Even though his family worked a lot, they still spent much of their time with him. His adopted uncles, all of Yoh and Hao's friends, visited often and doted on their young charge.

The twins had grown tall, towering over their mother. Hao was still the more muscular, but Yoh had a fine musculature of his own. Yoh had allowed his hair to grow and it cascaded down his back, almost as long as Hao's.

Keiko was beginning to show her age, with silver streaks adorning her hair and creases showing at the corners of her eyes and mouth. She laughed about it, saying she looked dignified. She certainly wasn't slowing down at all.

Hana had his father's soulful eyes and a mop of unruly blonde hair. The gawky child was rail thin, but ate enough for two boys his age. He had begun to show a slight lazy streak, just like his father. The twins were teaching him shamanism and he took to it like a duck to water.

Yoh often thought of the rest of his family, and Anna. There had been a few clashes with them in the early days, but once the other Asakuras realized that the twins had the allegiance of the entire supernatural community, they wisely backed off.

Hana sometimes asked about his mother. Yoh always told him that she had gone away, and wasn't coming back. He also stressed that it was not Hana's fault that his mother had left, fearing the child would suffer if allowed to feel that way.

Someday he and Hao would tell Hana the whole story, but not until he was old enough to understand. Old enough to understand not despise those that had hurt them, but to feel pity for people who didn't understand that love and forgiveness were more important than revenge.

"Come on Tou-san!" Hana's call interrupted Yoh's thoughts. He smiled again at his son. "Come on Uncle Hao, we have to go meet the Uncles at the airport, don't we?"

"Yes, indeed we do." Yoh replied. He took one of his son's hands and Hao took the other and together they made their way to the door. Yoh never knew that a simple kindness, saving a life, could grow into something wonderful like this.

One life ends, and another begins.

THE END

Wolf: Thanks guys, that's it. Keep on rocking!


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